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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 222
February Session, 2022
LCO No. 1765
Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
Introduced by:
(LAB)
AN ACT REQUIRING NOTICE OF DISCONTINUING PRESCRIPTION
MEDICINE UNDER A WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 31-294d of the 2022 supplement to 1
the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 2
thereof (Effective October 1, 2022): 3
(a) (1) The employer, as soon as the employer has knowledge of an 4
injury, shall provide a competent physician, surgeon, physician 5
assistant or advanced practice registered nurse to attend the injured 6
employee and, in addition, shall furnish any medical and surgical aid or 7
hospital and nursing service, including medical rehabilitation services 8
and prescription drugs, as the physician, surgeon, physician assistant or 9
advanced practice registered nurse deems reasonable or necessary. The 10
employer, any insurer acting on behalf of the employer, or any other 11
entity acting on behalf of the employer or insurer shall be responsible 12
for paying the cost of such prescription drugs directly to the provider. 13
If the employer utilizes an approved providers list, when an employee 14
reports a work-related injury or condition to the employer the employer 15 Raised Bill No. 222
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shall provide the employee with such approved providers list within 16
two business days of such reporting. 17
(2) Before discontinuing payment for prescriptions which a physician 18
has deemed reasonable or necessary under this section, the employer, 19
or any insurer acting on behalf of the employer, shall notify the 20
commissioner and the employee, by certified mail, of the proposed 21
discontinuance of such payments. Such notice shall specify the reason 22
for the proposed discontinuance and the date such proposed 23
discontinuance or reduction will commence. The employer's or insurer's 24
notice of intention to discontinue payments shall (A) identify the 25
claimant, the claimant's attorney or other representative, the employer, 26
the insurer, and the injury, including the date of the injury, the city or 27
town in which the injury occurred and the nature of the injury, (B) 28
include medical documentation that (i) establishes the basis for the 29
discontinuance or reduction of payments, and (ii) identifies the 30
claimant's attending physician or advanced practice registered nurse, 31
and (C) be in substantially the following form: 32
IMPORTANT 33
STATE OF CONNECTICUT WORKERS' COMPENSATION 34
COMMISSION 35
YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE EMPL OYER OR 36
INSURER INTENDS TO REDUCE OR DISCONTINUE YOUR 37
PRESCRIPTION PAYMENTS ON .... (date) FOR THE FOLLOWING 38
REASONS: 39
If you object to the discontinuance of prescription payments as stated 40
in this notice, YOU MUST REQUEST A HEARING NOT LATER THAN 41
15 DAYS after your receipt of this notice, or this notice will 42
automatically be approved. 43
To request an Informal Hearing, call the Workers' Compensation 44
Commission District Office in which your case is pending. 45 Raised Bill No. 222
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Be prepared to provide medical and other documentation to support 46
your objection. For your protection, note the date when you received 47
this notice. 48
(3) No discontinuance or reduction shall become effective unless 49
specifically approved in writing by the commissioner. The employee 50
may request a hearing on any such proposed discontinuance not later 51
than fifteen days after receipt of such notice. Any such request for a 52
hearing shall be given priority over requests for hearings on other 53
matters. The commissioner shall not approve any such discontinuance 54
or reduction prior to the expiration of the period for requesting a 55
hearing or the completion of such hearing, whichever is later. 56
(4) In any case where the commissioner finds that an employer has 57
discontinued or reduced any payments made in accordance with this 58
section without the approval of the commissioner, such employer shall 59
be required to pay to the employee the total amount of all payments so 60
discontinued and shall be required to pay interest to the employee, at a 61
rate of one and one-quarter per cent per month or portion of a month, 62
on any payments so discontinued or on the total amount by which such 63
payments were reduced, as the case may be, plus reasonable attorney's 64
fees incurred by the employee in relation to such discontinuance or 65
reduction. 66
[(2)] (5) If the injured employee is a local or state police officer, state 67
marshal, judicial marshal, correction officer, emergency medical 68
technician, paramedic, ambulance driver, firefighter, or active member 69
of a volunteer fire company or fire department engaged in volunteer 70
duties, who has been exposed in the line of duty to blood or bodily fluids 71
that may carry blood-borne disease, the medical and surgical aid or 72
hospital and nursing service provided by the employer shall include any 73
relevant diagnostic and prophylactic procedure for and treatment of any 74
blood-borne disease. 75
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
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Section 1 October 1, 2022 31-294d(a)
Statement of Purpose:
To require employers or insurers acting on behalf of employers to
provide notice and get approval before discontinuing coverage for
prescriptions.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]