Senate Bill No. 304
(By Senators Hunter, Foster, White, Kessler and Wells)
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[Introduced January 23, 2008; referred to the Committee on
Banking and Insurance; and then to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §23-1-2 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to revising Insurance Commissioner
reporting requirements to the Legislature on workers'
compensation insurance rules, policies and guidelines.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §23-1-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
CHAPTER 23. WORKERS' COMPENSATION.
ARTICLE 2. EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES SUBJECT TO CHAPTER;
EXTRATERRITORIAL COVERAGE.
§23-1-2. Reports by the insurance commissioner.
(a) In addition to any other oversight of the commission
exercised by the Legislature, the commission The insurance
commissioner shall regularly report at least quarterly to the joint committee on government and finance and the joint commission on
economic development or other legislative committee or subcommittee
designated by the joint committee on government and finance,
pursuant to the provisions of this section, and article three,
chapter four of this code. The commission commissioner shall
collect data and report on claims and injuries and on the costs and
outcomes of injuries by standard codes for medical treatment,
vocation rehabilitation services, return-to-work services, other
benefits payable to or on behalf of employees, efforts to eliminate
fraud and abuse and the impact of judicial and quasijudicial
rulings on the administration of the workers' compensation system
and the solvency of the fund. The workers' compensation commission
commissioner shall provide to the joint committee on government and
finance and the joint commission on economic development designated
committee, an action plan for improving the workers' compensation
system. This plan shall include detail on any administrative
changes undertaken by the commission commissioner, a report on the
anticipated outcome of the changes, a cost-benefit analysis of the
changes and time frames for commencement and completion of these
changes. Subsequent reports to the joint committee on government
and finance and the joint commission on economic development shall
report on the progress of these changes. The administrative changes
shall include, but are not limited to, claims processing,
reorganization, staff development and training, return-to-work programs, workplace alternatives for injured workers, safety
programs and medical and vocational services.
(b) The commissioner shall provide copies of all rules,
guidelines and policies for the operation and regulation of the
workers' compensation insurance market pursuant to section one-A of
this article, and the administration of old fund claims, as
provided in article two-C of this chapter. Every rule shall be
submitted to the committee designated pursuant to subsection (a) of
this section, at the beginning of the public comment period and
within thirty days of final promulgation of the rule. The
committee shall review the rule as soon as practical following
initial filing by the commissioner. Copies of guidelines and
policies shall be submitted upon adoption by the commissioner. The
commissioner shall submit only those guidelines and policies that
apply uniformly to the entire workers' compensation insurance
market or the old fund, and is not required to submit policies or
guidelines prepared for individual insurers or that relate only to
the internal operations of the office of the insurance
commissioner. In all submissions required by this section, twenty
copies of the submitted documents shall be filed with the
committee.
(b) (c) The commission commissioner shall also report on the
current status of the workers' compensation fund and the coal-
workers' pneumoconiosis fund. This analysis shall include the current balances in the fund and revenue generated and expended in
relationship to the liabilities and assets of the funds and
estimates of any debt reduction relative to the fund over the next
reporting period.
(c) (d) The commission commissioner shall further report on
the impact on the workers' compensation system of the amendments to
subdivision (2), subsection (n), section six, article four of this
chapter enacted during the year two thousand three, including, but
not limited to, an analysis of any litigation resulting from the
amendments and the availability of health care to injured workers
resulting from the amendments.
(d) (e) The commission commissioner shall further report on
methodologies used to establish all types of assessments and rates.
(e) (f) The commission commissioner shall further report on
legislative action that may be required to further improve the
operation of the commission the workers' compensation system.
(f) (g) The commission commissioner shall further report on
efforts to eliminate fraud and abuse including a statistical
breakdown of investigations being conducted and their outcomes.
The commission commissioner shall report to the joint committee on
government and finance on a monthly basis until the first day of
July, two thousand four, on fraud and abuse,and quarterly
thereafter.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for legislative notice by the Insurance Commissioner whenever a rule, policy or
guideline that affects the workers' compensation insurance system
is implemented.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
This bill was recommended for introduction and passage by the
Joint Committee on the Judiciary during 2007 legislative interims.