Report Title:

Workers' Compensation; DCD Management Audit and Fee Study

THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

147

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

requesting a management audit of the department of labor and industrial relations' disability compensation division and a study of whether an injured employee's access to medical care is being curtailed due to the practice of tying reimbursement rates to the medical fee schedule.

 

WHEREAS, Hawaii’s workers’ compensation law was established to provide benefits in a prompt and accurate manner to employees who sustain a work-related injury or illness; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, through its Disability Compensation Division, has the overall responsibility of administering the workers’ compensation law including its effective execution and supervision of prompt and accurate compensation payments; and

WHEREAS, over the years, numerous concerns have been raised over the administration of workers’ compensation claims by both employers and employees, insurers, and health care providers; and

WHEREAS, there have been reports that a backlog of open workers' compensation cases has delayed the processing of claims and the rendering of decisions by the Disability Compensation Division; and

WHEREAS, there have also been reports of health care providers not accepting workers' compensation cases due to the reimbursement rates for such cases being tied to 110% of the Medicare Resource Based Relative Value Scale (MRBRVS) system as applicable to Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, in order for injured employees to recover from their work-related injuries and get back to work in a timely manner, the processing of workers' compensation claims must be completed as expeditiously as possible; and

WHEREAS, the Auditor recently completed an audit of the workers' compensation payment process which recommended that the managers of State agencies improve their workers' compensation claims management to ensure timely payment of benefits, and that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations provide more timely hearings and decisions, establish a system to identify violations, and monitor to ensure compliance with the law; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations has overall responsibility of administering the workers' compensation law through the Disability Compensation Division; accordingly it is imperative that the Division is managed efficiently in order to achieve improvements in claims processing throughout the State; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-First Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Auditor is requested to conduct a management audit of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations' Disability Compensation Division; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor also study whether an injured employee's access to medical care is being curtailed due to the practice of tying reimbursement rates to the medical fee schedule as required under section 386-21, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor submit findings and recommendations to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2002; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor and the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations.