The newly enacted Illinois workers' compensation law is likely to burden the state's comp system with inflated costs, according to an insurers' trade group.
The criticism was leveled by the American Insurance Association (AIA), which pointed to an assortment of benefit increases and other changes.
Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich signed the measure Wednesday.
Neither Sen. Terry Link, D-Vernon Hills, nor Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Collinsville, the two sponsors of the measure, responded to inquiries about the AIA criticism.
The bill marks the first major overhaul of Illinois' workers' compensation system in nearly 20 years. The reforms include a medical fee schedule and the creation of a fraud unit which will be contained within the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
Steve Schneider, president of the AIA, complained that, "The fee schedule is not based on the predictable Medicare-based schedule; the ban on balance billing contains loopholes."
He added, "Unlike in 38 other states, the American Medical Association's impairment guidelines will not be used to reduce subjectivity in making injury determinations."
But, Susan Hofer, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, defended the new legislation on behalf of the Blagojevich administration.
She said the medical fee schedule, rather than using a formula developed by the federal Medicare system which would have subjected it to the vagaries of Congressional action, was based on the consumer price index and averages from 44 other states that are more in line with the Illinois marketplace.
Anjali Julka, a representative of the Illinois Department of Human Rights, said the fee schedule was implemented to protect working people from dealing with excessive insurance paperwork that is best left to the insurance company and the medical provider.
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