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Regular Session, 2013 ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 129
BY SENATOR CORTEZ
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To urge and request the medical advisory council within the office of workers' compensation
administration in the Louisiana Workforce Commission to meet and formulate
guidelines to address the injured workers' need for routine physician office visits as
well as formulate guidelines to address the interruption in prescribed active therapy
treatment for injured workers.
WHEREAS, the Legislature of Louisiana enacted Act No. 254 of the 2009 Regular
Session, which created the medical advisory council within the office of workers'
compensation administration in the Louisiana Workforce Commission; and
WHEREAS, the medical advisory council was charged with developing a treatment
schedule whereby injured workers, who are entitled to workers' compensation benefits,
would receive certain medical treatment for their injuries based upon the treatments
prescribed by the medical treatment schedule; and
WHEREAS, the medical advisory council produced a medical treatment schedule
in 2011 and the schedule became applicable to all medical treatment which is owed to
injured workers beginning 2011; and
WHEREAS, the legislature required that the medical treatment "be developed by the
conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about
the care of individual patients, integrating clinical expertise, which is the proficiency and
judgment that clinicians acquire through clinical experience and clinical practice, with the
best available external clinical evidence from systematic research"; and
WHEREAS, the medical treatment schedule does not address the necessity of routine
physician office visits, also known as evaluation managements; and
WHEREAS, patients are being denied basic medical care and routine physician
office visits by some workers' compensation insurance companies who deny the claims
because such visits are not specifically provided for in the medical treatment schedule; and SCR NO. 129 ENROLLED
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WHEREAS, patients are being denied adequate access to active therapy because the
medical treatment guidelines allow for interruption of treatment and delays in receiving
subsequent active therapy, resulting in a delay to return to work for many injured workers.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the medical advisory council within the office of workers' compensation
administration in the Louisiana Workforce Commission to meet and formulate guidelines
to address the injured workers' need for routine physician office visits as well as formulate
guidelines to address the interruption in prescribed active therapy treatment for injured
workers.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the medical advisory council within the office
of workers' compensation administration in the Louisiana Workforce Commission report to
the Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations and the House Committee on Labor
and Industrial Relations the reformulated guidelines no later than September 1, 2013.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
medical advisory council within the office of workers' compensation administration in the
Louisiana Workforce Commission.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES