SACRAMENTO, CA – ACIC has posted its weekly bill roundup. Notable workers’ compensation-related bills include:
Bills Heard the Week of June 14
Assembly Health Committee – June 15
AJR 42 (Solorio) Medicare Secondary Payer Enhancement Act of 2010. AJR 42 would request Congress and the President of the United States to enact the Medicare Secondary Payer Enhancement Act of 2010. The resolution passed the committee with a unanimous vote. ACIC supports the resolution.
Senate Banking, Finance and Insurance Committee – June 16
AB 2490 (Jones) Workers Compensation Insurance: Disputes: Arbitration. AB 2490 would impose requirements on any agreement between an employer and a workers compensation insurer concerning resolution of disputes including, but not limited to, an arbitration clause arising out of a workers compensation policy or endorsement. The bill would require the agreement: (1) be part of the form or endorsement filed with a licensed rating organization and subject to approval by the insurance commissioner, (2) include a choice of law provision that identifies California law as the law to be used to resolve any dispute that arises in California and (3) contain a choice of forum provision that identifies California as the proper venue for any proceeding regarding a dispute that arises in California. AB 2490 specifies that failure to observe these requirements would render the dispute resolution agreement void and unenforceable. The bill passed the committee 7-2 and was sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee. ACIC opposes the bill.
AB 2781 (Assembly Committee on Insurance) Insurance: Guarantee Association. AB 2781 would delete an order of receivership as a qualification for being an insolvent insurer. The bill also would extend the California Insurance Guarantee Association’s existing bond authority relating to workers compensation claims until Jan. 1, 2013. The bill passed the committee 9-0 and was sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee. ACIC supports the bill.
AB 2782 (Assembly Committee on Insurance) Agent Licensing Omnibus Bill. AB 2782, sponsored by the Department of Insurance, would make a number of changes to the agent licensing laws, including deleting the authority for a fire and casualty licensee to sell any coverage that a personal lines licensee is authorized to transact. The bill would divide the fire and casualty broker-agent license into two insurance license types: property broker-agent licenses and casualty broker-agent licenses. AB 2782 would designate the number of hours required for ethics training in prelicensing study. The bill would retain the requirement that an investment company in which a domestic insurer may make excess funds investments be domiciled in the United States, but would delete the requirement that all assets be held in the United States. The bill passed the committee 9-0 and was sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee. ACIC supports the bill.
Bill to be Heard the Week of June 21
Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee – June 23
AB 933 (Fong) Workers Compensation: Utilization Review. AB 933 would require a physician who conducts a utilization review of workers compensation medical treatment to be licensed in California. The bill would also require re-approval of a medical provider network plan every three years and would require the administrative director to require that procedures be established to ensure that a list of the medical providers is accurate and updated semiannually. Finally, the bill would expressly provide that specified items are elements of a claim file that affect the employer’s premium. ACIC opposes the bill.
Source: The Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC), an affiliate of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI)