California To Hold Comp Session

By Caroline McDonald

NU Online News Service, Nov. 18, 11:29 a.m. EST?California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced at his inauguration yesterday that a special session of the Legislature will meet today at 4 p.m. to discuss the workers' compensation crisis.

Both houses of the Legislature will be in session "to find solutions to the workers' compensation crisis," said Norman Williams, a Department of Insurance spokesman. He said the legislators and the governor will examine proposed measures and "amend them as they see fit."

The department released a letter concerning workers' compensation issues, which State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi sent Friday to then Gov.-elect Schwarzenegger.

Mr. Garamendi, in addition to sending congratulations, said he was pleased to see Mr. Schwarzenegger moving speedily to solve the state's problems.

"I am particularly delighted that you have identified a program of workers' compensation reform that relies primarily on the package of reforms that I put forward during the last session. I look forward to working with you in a bipartisan effort to realize this ambitious agenda," he wrote.

He continued in the letter that "at a minimum we must take on some thorny issues and enact serious reforms including addressing the difficult issue of permanent partial and total disability."

Mr. Garamendi added that implementation of workers' comp reform should include: sound treatment utilization management through the use of independent medical review, undertaking State Compensation Insurance Fund reform and addressing fair controls of physicians' fees.

He also mentioned rationalizing the current "irrational" penalty structure, creating sound incentives throughout the system for return to work, reforming the information collection process and guaranteeing immediate medical treatment for injured workers.

"California's economic recovery," Mr. Garamendi said, "depends not only on realizing substantial savings for employers, but also on assuring that injured workers are efficiently and effectively treated and set back on track for healthy and productive lives."

His letter said that within a few days he would send the governor language for proposed legislation "that I am currently discussing with several potential authors."

Mr. Garamendi said in the letter that reform of the disability portion of the system, although crucial, "will be very difficult to achieve. For this reason I intend to convene a summit on this issue soon to develop a real solution."

The commissioner said, in addition to hearing from "the familiar California experts," he plans to include expertise from other jurisdictions.

"I hope," wrote Mr. Garamendi, that "the Commission on Health & Safety & Workers' Compensation Rand study will provide a starting point that will enable all the relevant stakeholders to achieve consensus on reforms for California that can be enacted through bi-partisan cooperation. I look forward to your valuable participation in such an effort."

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California To Hold Comp Session

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