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PENNSYLVANIA FEDERATION OF INJURED WORKERS Call us toll free 1-888-376-7942
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September 21, 2005
HB961 - Bad Legislation for Injured Workers (Expressed opinion by Michael A. Kerstetter, PFIW Dauphin County) A bill is about to be brought out of committee and voted on. The HB961 will force injured workers to treat with an employer's panel physician for 180 days instead of 90 days. The PFIW has taken a stand on this legislation and does not support it in any way or form. This Legislation will open the door for medical malpractice suits because it causes a panel physician to put medical costs before the well-being of the injured worker. The reasoning used by the authors of the bill is as follows: It is first important to note that the Bureau of Workers' Compensation must perform an annual Medical Access Study to gauge the satisfaction of those injured workers being treated under the current system. The 2004 Study which was recently released by the Bureau indicates a relatively high level of claimant satisfaction with medical treatment under the current system, patients treated by panel physicians reported a higher level of satisfaction with their care (87.7% satisfied who use panel versus 76.1% satisfied with no panel). Also, it is important to note that this same study indicated that 86% of injured workers who treated with a panel physician stayed with that panel physician throughout their treatment. This unbiased study indicates that claimants, by a vast majority, are satisfied with their treatment by panel physicians and there is not inherent problem with this aspect of out state workers' compensation law. It is also important to note that the proposal to increase the captive period to 180 days is not overly stringent when compared to other states. Ten other states (including New Jersey) require that claimants treat with panel physicians for the duration of an injury, and many other states have "captive" periods that are longer then 180 days. The quality of care in these other states has not been questioned by the AFL-CIO or any other organizations. The medical costs per claim are rising at an annual rate of 8% per year and House Bill 961 offers a means of keeping our workers' compensation medical costs under control.
There are several things wrong with the reasoning of the authors of HB961. The PA Federation of Injured Workers strongly disagree with the reasoning of the authors for the following reasons: 1. The response from injured workers is so low that it makes the study unreliable. Out of 10,000 injured workers that were sent a survey only 2,012 responded. That is just barely 20% responding and 80% not responding. Most likely the majority of the 80% that did not respond were unsatisfied with their medical treatment. They did not respond either because they were afraid of some sort of retaliation or they were ashamed to let anyone know they did not get the medical treatment they needed and did not know how to get it or they are so mad at the workers compensation system they refuse to participate in the survey. Our organization hears this from injured workers often. We sit down and talk to injured workers so we have a first hand experience with them instead of a survey. 2. Most injured workers don’t know their employer has sent them to a panel physician because they are unaware of it. They go to the physician the emergency room refers them too. They go to that physician thinking the emergency room has recommended it to them and not the employer. They believe the physician will do right by them for medical treatment because of the recommendation from the emergency room. So they will stay with that physician for that reason. If they knew the physician would withhold some tests and treatment to hold the medical cost down for the employer they probably would choose a different physician. Injured workers do not know their rights at this point and no one bothers to tell them. 3. Anyone with common sense knows that any entity doing a survey or a study on themselves will exaggerate the results a bit to make themselves look better then they really are. It is hard for our organization to think this survey is legitimate because it was done by the Department of Labor and Industry on the Workers’ Compensation Bureau, which is part of itself. An independent company that has no interest in its outcome should have done the survey. Anyone can pat him or herself on the back and say they are doing a good job but that does not make it so. I have attended many PA Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council meetings and the Bureau of Workers Compensation does not know how to interpret the data they collect for reports to the Council so how can they interpret it correctly for the survey. Those are three big reasons why the PFIW finds the Annual Workers Compensation Medical Access Study unreliable. Only someone who really does not care what the true facts are would rely on an evaluation done by an entity on itself. HB961 sounds like it is an attempt to help employers and insurers and not injured workers, which is the only function of workers compensation. I am including an excerpt of a letter I received from an injured worker stating how long it took to get treatment for an injury. The injured worker asked to be kept anonymous. (Injured workers are afraid of retaliation if they speak out).
It has been a long time since I’ve seen you online and you are on my Buddy List. I know that you are alive because I continue to receive your e-mails. They have spurred me on to send letters to Senators and Congressmen. Please keep me on your list!
I am writing to you to update you on what has happened to me recently. My work injury happened early in 2001. It took more than 4 years to get any treatment for my brain injury. (It took several months before I had any treatment for my upper and lower spine injuries.) After the more than 4 years waiting to get any treatment for my brain injury, it took another year for me to get the recommended equipment which would help make my life more comfortable . . . and I still don’t have all of it yet.
This injured worker will never recover from his/her injury because it took so long to get proper medical treatment. There are thousands of injured workers just like this one out there in PA.
It should also be noted that the Legislators do not have to abide by the PA workers compensation act if they are injured on the job. Maybe if this law applied to them they would not be so eager to pass legislation that is not good for injured workers.
The authors of HB961 claim that the AFL-CIO or any other organization has not challenged the concept but I would like to point out that the PFIW has challenged this House Bill ever since it was introduced. The PFIW is a nonprofit organization that helps injured workers and the authors of the bill don't consider us at all. It just goes to show you they don't want to hear from injured workers. I wonder what kind of lobbying gifts the authors of HB961 got in exchange for introducing the bill. |
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