An August 2019 California DWC proposal for a revised payment system for QMEs has again caused an uproar among doctors who perform evaluations in California workers’ comp cases. The proposed regulations (see link at the bottom of this post) are the subject of a DWC comment forum which closes on August 23, 2019. The proposal
California’s new Insurance Commissioner, Ricardo Lara, is off to a shaky start. Lara is not directly involved in setting workers’ comp policy or administering California’s workers’ comp system, but he does have authority over setting recommended workers’ comp rates. And his office has oversight over some insurers and the policies they can sell. Lara is
California has now adopted interim standards for worker smoke exposure. Those standards (see link at bottom of this post), promulgated by the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, will be in effect for a year. The major California wildfires over the last few years resulted in large portions of the state being swathed in
Governor Newson has reappointed Marguerite Sweeney to the WCAB. Sweeney is widely respected in the comp community, and congratulations are in order. Here is the July 26 announcement from the Governor’s office: “Marguerite Sweeney, 68, of San Francisco, has been reappointed to the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, where she has served since 2012. Sweeney was
Expect much more high tech in the workers’ comp world. That’s one of the main takeaways from my attendance at the California Coalition on Workers’ Compensation (CCWC) 2019 conference at Disneyland. I was there last week to speak as a participant on the blogger’s panel, speaking along with Judge Robert Rassp, consultant Mark Pew, and