California Workers' Comp Medical Mileage Rate To Increase For Travel O/A July 1, 2011

Yesterday the IRS Commissioner announced that the standard mileage rate for business miles will increase from 51¢ per mile to 55.5¢ per mile effective July 1, 2011. As a result, the amount payable to injured workers for travel related to medical treatment or evaluation of their injuries will increase to the 55.5¢ as well. Workers’ compensation claims administrators should apply the new rate for miles driven from July 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011, regardless of the date of injury, but should continue to pay the rate of 51¢ per mile for travel from January 1 through June 30, 2011.

California workers’ compensation medical mileage requirements [LC §4600(e)(2)] work in conjunction with Government Code 19820 and Department of Personnel Administration (DPA) regulations. Claims administrators are required to reimburse mileage at the rate adopted by the DPA Director for non-represented (excluded) state employees, which is tied to the IRS published mileage rate.
Yesterday’s announcement (www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=240903,00.html?portlet=6) explains that the mileage rate for the second half of 2011 was updated because the recent surge in gas prices is having a major impact on individual Americans.

The Institute is issuing a Bulletin and a news release on the new rate, which will be posted on our website (www.cwci.org). The DWC is expected to issue a Newsline on the rate increase once the DPA issues a Personnel Management Liaison memo announcing the change to all state agencies and departments. All DWC Newslines are posted at www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/dwc_newsline.html. Because of the string of mileage rate changes over the past three years, DWC has posted downloadable mileage-expense forms at www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/forms.html to show applicable rates based on the travel date. A new form with the rate for travel in the second of 2011 is expected to be posted soon. However, given summer vacations and the time required to update systems, claims administrators may wish to alert their system programmers of the upcoming

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