Insurers are calling on Republican Gov. George Pataki to veto a New York measure making it easier for injured workers to get medical treatment without prior approval.
Under the bill approved last week the threshold for required pre-approval to receive workers' compensation medical treatment would increase to $1,200, from $500.
"This measure goes in the opposite direction of reforms," according to Christina Baldwin of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.
Various stakeholders have been working for changes in the New York State workers' comp system, which has the second highest claims level in the nation, but the pre-approval measure was the only comp bill to secure passage in the legislative session, which just concluded.
According to Ms. Baldwin, removal of the lower threshold eliminates a cost containment measure and makes insurers more vulnerable to fraudulent and unnecessary treatment claims.
Also, the group discounts of 40-45 percent off of some procedures like magnetic resonance imaging, that many insurers receive, may be jeopardized by the new legislation, according to Ms. Baldwin.
AFL-CIO and the Business Council of New York, however, "certainly support the raise from $500 to $1,200," said Art Wilcox, director of the Public Employee Dept. of the New York State AFL-CIO.
He explained that the change provides injured workers with more timely access to quality medical care and allows them to return to work faster. In effect, the bill will lower the injury experience ratings for employers and potentially decrease their rates, according to Mr. Wilcox.
The governor will receive the bill in the next three weeks and then has 10 days to sign it into law or veto it.
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