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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6797
January Session, 2023
AN ACT CONCERNING PLANS FOR THE TREATMENT OF
WORKPLACE INJURIES AND ILLNESSES AND ESTABLISHING
WORKING GROUPS TO REVIEW ACCESS TO MEDICAL RECORDS
AND PARTIAL DISABILITY PAYMENTS UNDER THE WORKERS'
COMPENSATION ACT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (d) of section 31-279 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 2
October 1, 2023): 3
(d) Each plan established under subsection (c) of this section shall be 4
submitted to the chairperson for [his] the chairperson's approval at 5
least one hundred twenty days before the proposed effective date of 6
the plan and each approved plan, along with any proposed changes 7
therein, shall be resubmitted to the chairperson every two years 8
thereafter for reapproval. The chairperson shall approve or disapprove 9
such plans on the basis of standards established by the chairperson in 10
consultation with a medical advisory panel appointed by the 11
chairperson. Such standards shall include, but not be limited to: (1) 12
The ability of the plan to provide all medical and health care services 13
that may be required under this chapter in a manner that is timely, 14
effective and convenient for the employees; (2) the inclusion in the 15
plan of all categories of medical service and of an adequate number of 16
providers of each type of medical service in accessible locations to 17 Substitute Bill No. 6797
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ensure that employees are given an adequate choice of providers; (3) 18
the provision in the plan for appropriate financial incentives to reduce 19
service costs and utilization without a reduction in the quality of 20
service; (4) the inclusion in the plan of fee screening, peer review, 21
service utilization review and dispute resolution procedures designed 22
to prevent inappropriate or excessive treatment; [and] (5) the inclusion 23
in the plan of a procedure by which information on medical and health 24
care service costs and utilization will be reported to the chairperson in 25
order for him to determine the effectiveness of the plan; and (6) the 26
inclusion in the plan of an administrative process that permits an 27
employee to seek, without limitation, a determination of the necessity 28
or appropriateness of medical and health care services recommended 29
by providers of a medical care plan and the payment for such 30
appropriate, medically necessary health care services. 31
Sec. 2. (Effective from passage) (a) On or before August 15, 2023, the 32
chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 33
having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary, or their 34
designees, shall convene a working group to review provisions of the 35
general statutes relating to medical records to develop legislative 36
recommendations to (1) streamline medical record requests from third-37
party requestors to health care providers in order to obtain copies of 38
medical records in a timely fashion, and (2) revise provisions of the 39
general statutes to provide for the reasonable assessment of fees for 40
expenses incurred when responding to requests for copies of medical 41
records, including electronic medical records. 42
(b) The working group convened pursuant to subsection (a) of this 43
section shall consist of: 44
(1) The chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General 45
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary, or 46
their designees; 47
(2) The ranking members of the joint standing committee of the 48
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the 49 Substitute Bill No. 6797
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judiciary, or their designees; 50
(3) The chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General 51
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health, or 52
their designees; 53
(4) The ranking members of the joint standing committee of the 54
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public 55
health, or their designees; 56
(5) The agency legal director for the Workers' Compensation 57
Commission, or the director's designee; and 58
(6) The following persons, who shall be jointly appointed by the 59
chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 60
having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary, or their 61
designees: 62
(A) A representative of a national third-party medical records 63
provider; 64
(B) A representative of a national association representing third-65
party medical records providers; 66
(C) An attorney who specializes in personal injury law; 67
(D) An attorney who specializes in workers' compensation law; 68
(E) A representative of a state-wide bar association representing 69
attorneys; 70
(F) A representative of a state-wide association representing 71
hospitals; 72
(G) A representative of a state-wide association representing 73
physicians; and 74
(H) A representative of a state-wide association representing 75 Substitute Bill No. 6797
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medical specialty providers. 76
(c) All appointments to the working group shall be made not later 77
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. 78
(d) The chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General 79
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary, or 80
their designees, shall serve as the chairpersons of the working group. 81
The working group shall meet not less than monthly and at such other 82
times as may be necessary upon the call of the chairpersons of the 83
working group. 84
(e) Not later than February 1, 2024, the working group shall submit 85
a report on its findings and legislative recommendations to the joint 86
standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of 87
matters relating to the judiciary and public health, in accordance with 88
the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. The working 89
group shall terminate on the date that it submits such report or 90
February 1, 2024, whichever is later. 91
Sec. 3. (Effective from passage) (a) On or before August 15, 2023, the 92
chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 93
having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary, or their 94
designees, shall convene a working group to review the level of partial 95
permanent disability payments available to injured employees under 96
chapter 568 of the general statutes. Such review shall include an 97
assessment of whether: (1) The provisions of the general statutes 98
adequately protect all injured employees in the state, and (2) the 99
provisions of the general statutes prescribing benefit levels should be 100
revised. 101
(b) The working group convened pursuant to subsection (a) of this 102
section shall consist of: 103
(1) The chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General 104
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary, or 105
their designees; 106 Substitute Bill No. 6797
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(2) The ranking members of the joint standing committee of the 107
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the 108
judiciary, or their designees; 109
(3) The chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General 110
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to labor and public 111
employees, or their designees; 112
(4) The ranking members of the joint standing committee of the 113
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to labor and 114
public employees, or their designees; 115
(5) The agency legal director for the Workers' Compensation 116
Commission, or the director's designee; and 117
(6) The following persons, who shall be jointly appointed by the 118
chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 119
having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary, or their 120
designees: 121
(A) An attorney who specializes in representing claimants 122
appearing before the Workers' Compensation Commission; 123
(B) An attorney who specializes in representing respondents 124
appearing before the Workers' Compensation Commission; 125
(C) A representative of a state-wide bar association representing 126
attorneys; 127
(D) A representative of a state-wide association representing trial 128
attorneys; and 129
(E) A representative of a state-wide association representing 130
workers' compensation insurers in the state. 131
(c) All appointments to the working group shall be made not later 132
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. 133 Substitute Bill No. 6797
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(d) The chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General 134
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary, or 135
their designees, shall serve as the chairpersons of the working group. 136
The working group shall meet not less than monthly and at such other 137
times as may be necessary upon the call of the chairpersons of the 138
working group. 139
(e) Not later than February 1, 2024, the working group shall submit 140
a report on its findings and legislative recommendations to the joint 141
standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of 142
matters relating to the judiciary and labor and public employees, in 143
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. 144
The working group shall terminate on the date that it submits such 145
report or February 1, 2024, whichever is later. 146
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2023 31-279(d)
Sec. 2 from passage New section
Sec. 3 from passage New section
JUD Joint Favorable Subst.