Communications / Technical Issues / Technical Issue

Draft Regs Propose Changes to New Hire Pamphlets, Posting Notices & Claim Forms

Date: 03/04/2010

This week, DWC issued its first 15-day notice of revisions to proposed MPN and employee information regulations that have been in the works for more than a year (see CWCI Bulletin 09-12, August 2009). The latest draft includes changes made following a hearing last October. The proposed language is posted in the reg section of our website http://www.cwci.org/regulation.html?id=28 and on the DWC web site http://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/dwcRulemaking.html

The proposed revisions to MPN and employee information regulations are authorized by LC§§ 4616, 3550 and 3551, which require the DWC to adopt regs for MPNs and employee information on WC benefits. The latest draft of the regs includes revisions to:

   1. 8CCR §9767.3 Application for a Medical Provider Network Plan
   2. 8CCR §9767.8 Modification of Medical Provider Network Plan
   3. 8CCR §9767.12 Employee Notification
   4. 8CCR §9767.16 Notice to Employee Upon Termination, Cessation of Use, or Change of MPN
   5. 8CCR §9880 Written Notice to New Employees (New Hire Pamphlet)
   6. 8CCR §9881 Posting of Notice to Employees
   7. 8CCR §9881.1. Notice to Employees Poster

Public comments on these revisions will be accepted until 5 p.m. on March 17, 2010, and CWCI will be compiling and submitting comments. Following the March 17 public comment period, DWC will review and respond to the comments, and make additional changes as needed, which may lead to one or more additional rounds of revisions and 15-day comment periods before final regulations can be sent to the Office of Administrative Law for review and approval, which typically takes 45 days. [Note: Proposed changes to CCR §9767.3 (Treatment and Change of Physicians within an MPN) and CCR §10139 (DWC-1 Claim Form and Notice of Potential Eligibility) were included in the draft regs reviewed at the October hearing. DWC made no additional changes to these two regs, so no additional comments on them will be taken during this 15-day comment period.]

Given the required timeframes for the regulatory process, it appears that the regulations will not be finalized before this summer. Depending on the effective date for the regs, and any grace period allowed for implementation, claims administrators may need to distribute not only the new MPN notices, but updated versions of the posting notices, new hire pamphlets, and the revised DWC-1 claim form/Notice of Potential Eligibility. CWCI will continue to provide input on these regs and will update our pamphlets, posting notices and claim forms once final regulations are adopted. We will alert our members on any change that is needed and on how to order updated materials.

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