• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Bill Lets Injured Workers Select Among Physicians ; House OKs Measure That Helps Patients Avoid 'Bad Treatment'

Posted on: Tuesday, 5 April 2005, 09:00 CDT

Injured workers could choose from a list of three physicians then change one time to a second physician on that list, under a bill that won House approval Monday.

Currently, employers have one doctor, in house or on call, who handles most workers compensation cases.

House Bill 1018 sponsor Rep. Morgan Carroll, D-Denver, said the new rules wouldn't cost businesses any more money because treatment limits don't change.

"It has the same caps, the same discounts as before," Carroll said. "What it does is let the patients escape bad treatment if they have bad doctors."

Some Republicans say the bill is too costly for businesses.

Under the bill's language, if someone, say, breaks a leg on the job, he could choose from three doctors with expertise in workers compensation injuries.

If after two treatments he's dissatisfied with the doctor, he can choose another from that list of three.

But that doesn't mean the treatment starts from scratch, Carroll said.

The new doctor starts at treatment No. 3.

Rep. Bob McCluskey, R-Fort Collins, said the measure is bound to cost more money.

Instead of one doctor efficiently handling all the injuries for a company, the new rules would mean new, less-experienced doctors.

"Employers take time to pick these doctors," he said. "The ongoing relationship with a doctor skilled in work-related injured will be lost."

The bill was inspired by workers complaining that they had no choice of doctors, which sometimes meant unsatisfactory treatment.

Rep. John Soper, D-Thornton, a retired union electrician, said, "Most employers pick a good doctor, but once in a while they don't. It's certainly not bad to have a choice."

Minority Leader Rep. Joe Stengel, R-Littleton, said that with malpractice lawsuits in vogue, many doctors chosen second would want to start treatment from scratch, and that would drive up costs.

Carroll responded, "There are no 'do-overs.' The new doctor would have to pick up where the first doctor left off."

The bill still has a long way to go - one more vote in the House, then three steps in the Senate before the trip to the governor.

Source: Rocky Mountain News

More News in this Category