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The latest legislative and regulatory activity that impacts you and the services we provide
Policy Matters Brief - February 27, 2025
February 27, 2025 · Public Policy & Regulatory Affairs Team
Alabama Legislature Moving Teacher Compensation Legislation
The Alabama Senate unanimously passed a bill that would provide workers' compensation benefits for public school teachers.
Presently, teachers who are injured at work must pay out-of-pocket for treatment related to the work injury and then request reimbursement from the Board of Adjustment. Senate Bill 1 would create a Public Education Injury Compensation Board to administer new workers’ compensation benefits for teachers effective October 1, 2025.
The bill now moves to the House for further action.
Arizona Industrial Commission Proposes Revised Fee Schedule
The Industrial Commission of Arizona proposed a fee schedule update that will incorporate revisions in Medicare's payment system and the 2025 American Medical Association Current Procedural Terminology.
The proposed rule will also update the various medical services conversion factors and revise certain state HCPCS codes related to provision of medical supplies codes for reimbursement.
All stakeholder comments are due at the Commission’s rule hearing, which is scheduled for March 6, 2025.
California Updates Ambulance and Outpatient Facility Fee Schedules
The California Division of Workers' Compensation announced updates to its fee schedules for ambulance services effective January 1, 2025.
The changes implement modifications made to the Medicare payment system enacted on January 1, 2025. The new fee schedule can be found here.
The Division also announced updates related to Medicare payment modifications for the outpatient surgery fee schedule, which can be found here.
Modifications to both fee schedules are effective January 1, 2025.
Michigan Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing Program Act
The State of Michigan recently enacted the Michigan Peer-to-Peer car sharing program effective October 17, 2025, which imposes obligations on operators, vehicle owners, and drivers; provides for liability for personal injuries and property damage; and sets forth insurers’ responsibilities.
More information can be found on the Michigan legislature website here.
New York Governor Signs Workplace Stress Bill
New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed into law a bill that would add different compensability standards for mental health claims that depend on the work performed by the claimant.
Senate Bill 755 would prohibit the New York Workers’ Compensation Board from disallowing a mental injury claim solely based on the finding that the stress was not greater than normal under certain conditions.
Oregon Workers’ Compensation updates Fee Schedule/Coding via temporary rule
The Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division (WCD) adopted “temporary” updates to its rule governing medical fee schedules and procedure coding. The temporary updates, effective January 1, 2025, impact medical and ancillary service categories by adopting 2025 procedure coding and assigning fee schedule reimbursement values for new codes.
The proposed permanent fee schedule, yet to be released, will be effective April 1, 2025 can be found here: Oregon Medical Fee and Payment. The Temporary rule changes (including markups), effective January 1, 2025 can be found here: Temporary Oregon Medical Fee and Payment.
Virginia House Passes Bill Increasing First Responder Mental Injury Benefits
The Virginia House recently passed legislation that would expand the current level of mental injury benefits for first responders.
House Bill 2060 would double the duration of workers’ compensation benefits available related to PTSD claims, for law enforcement and firefighters. Specifically, the bill would extend the current 52 weeks duration of benefits related to a PTSD claim to 104 weeks.
The bill now goes to the Senate for further action.
Virginia Legislature Passes Cancer Presumption Bill
The Virginial Legislature recently passed legislation that would expand cancer presumptions.
Certain cancer presumptions currently exist for firefighters and other municipal workers who are frequently exposed to certain toxic chemicals. House Bill 1933 would specify that throat cancer includes cancer that forms in the tissues of the pharynx, larynx, adenoid, tonsil, esophagus, trachea, or pharynx.[JE1]
The bill now goes to the Governor for further action.
Additional Optum resources: For more information on these policy developments and others we have been tracking this year, be sure to visit our Legislative and Regulatory Tracker. Bills or regulations can be filtered by insurance line, topic, status and jurisdiction. If you have questions on these or any other public policy developments, please contact our team at OptumWC.PolicyMatters@optum.com. |
