Bill Text: NY A07151 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Establishes a fee schedule covering the costs of ambulance services provided to injured employees.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-08 - referred to labor [A07151 Detail]

Download: New_York-2013-A07151-Introduced.html
                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         7151
                              2013-2014 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                      May 2, 2013
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  M.  of  A. HEASTIE -- (at request of the State Insurance
         Fund) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor
       AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to the estab-
         lishment of a fee schedule covering the costs  of  ambulance  services
         provided to injured employees
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Subdivision (a) of section 13 of the workers'  compensation
    2  law,  as amended by chapter 6 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as
    3  follows:
    4    (a) The employer shall promptly provide for an injured  employee  such
    5  medical,  dental, surgical, optometric or other attendance or treatment,
    6  nurse and hospital service,  medicine,  optometric  services,  crutches,
    7  eye-glasses,   false   teeth,  artificial  eyes,  orthotics,  prosthetic
    8  devices, functional assistive and adaptive  devices  and  apparatus  for
    9  such  period  as the nature of the injury or the process of recovery may
   10  require. The employer shall be liable for the payment of the expenses of
   11  medical, dental, surgical, optometric or other attendance or  treatment,
   12  AMBULANCE  SERVICES INCLUDING AIR TRANSPORT, nurse and hospital service,
   13  medicine, optometric services, crutches, eye-glasses, false teeth, arti-
   14  ficial eyes, orthotics, prosthetic  devices,  functional  assistive  and
   15  adaptive  devices  and  apparatus,  as well as artificial members of the
   16  body or other devices or appliances necessary in the first  instance  to
   17  replace, support or relieve a portion or part of the body resulting from
   18  and  necessitated  by  the injury of an employee, for such period as the
   19  nature of the injury or the process of recovery  may  require,  and  the
   20  employer  shall also be liable for replacements or repairs of such arti-
   21  ficial members of the body or such  other  devices,  eye-glasses,  false
   22  teeth, artificial eyes, orthotics, prosthetic devices, functional assis-
   23  tive and adaptive devices or appliances necessitated by ordinary wear or
   24  loss  or  damage  to  a prosthesis, with or without bodily injury to the
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD08921-01-3
       A. 7151                             2
    1  employee. Damage to or loss of a prosthetic device shall  be  deemed  an
    2  injury  except that no disability benefits shall be payable with respect
    3  to such injury under section fifteen of this article. Such a replacement
    4  or  repair of artificial members of the body or such other devices, eye-
    5  glasses, false teeth, artificial eyes,  orthotics,  prosthetic  devices,
    6  functional assistive and adaptive devices or appliances or the providing
    7  of medical treatment and care as defined herein shall not constitute the
    8  payment of compensation under section twenty-five-a of this article. All
    9  fees  and other charges for such treatment and services shall be limited
   10  to such charges as prevail in the same community for  similar  treatment
   11  of injured persons of a like standard of living.
   12    The  chair  shall  prepare  and establish a schedule for the state, or
   13  schedules limited to defined localities, of charges and  fees  for  such
   14  medical treatment and care, and including all medical, dental, surgical,
   15  optometric or other attendance or treatment, nurse and hospital service,
   16  medicine, optometric services, crutches, eye-glasses, false teeth, arti-
   17  ficial  eyes,  orthotics,  prosthetic  devices, functional assistive and
   18  adaptive devices and apparatus AND AMBULANCE SERVICES  INCLUDING  TRANS-
   19  PORT  BY  AIR in accordance with and to be subject to change pursuant to
   20  rules promulgated by the chair. Before preparing such schedule  for  the
   21  state  or  schedules  for limited localities the chair shall request the
   22  president of the medical society of the state of New York and the presi-
   23  dent of the New York state osteopathic medical society to submit to  him
   24  or  her a report on the amount of remuneration deemed by such society to
   25  be fair and adequate for the types of medical care to be rendered  under
   26  this  chapter,  but  consideration  shall  be given to the view of other
   27  interested parties. In the case of physical therapy fees  schedules  the
   28  chair  shall  request the president of a recognized professional associ-
   29  ation representing physical therapists in  the  state  of  New  York  to
   30  submit  to  him  or her a report on the amount of remuneration deemed by
   31  such association to be fair and reasonable  for  the  type  of  physical
   32  therapy services rendered under this chapter, but consideration shall be
   33  given  to  the  views of other interested parties.  The chair shall also
   34  prepare and establish a schedule for the state, or schedules limited  to
   35  defined localities, of charges and fees for outpatient hospital services
   36  not  covered  under  the  medical fee schedule previously referred to in
   37  this subdivision, to be determined in accordance with and to be  subject
   38  to  change  pursuant to rules promulgated by the chair. Before preparing
   39  such schedule for the state or  schedules  for  limited  localities  the
   40  chair  shall  request  the  president of the hospital association of New
   41  York state to submit to him or her a report on the amount  of  remunera-
   42  tion deemed by such association to be fair and adequate for the types of
   43  hospital  outpatient care to be rendered under this chapter, but consid-
   44  eration shall be given to the views of other interested parties. In  the
   45  case  of occupational therapy fees schedules the chair shall request the
   46  president of a recognized professional association representing  occupa-
   47  tional  therapists  in  the  state of New York to submit to him or her a
   48  report on the amount of remuneration deemed by such  association  to  be
   49  fair  and  reasonable  for  the  type  of  occupational therapy services
   50  rendered under this chapter, but consideration shall  be  given  to  the
   51  views  of  other interested parties. The amounts payable by the employer
   52  for such treatment and services shall be the  fees  and  charges  estab-
   53  lished  by  such  schedule.    Nothing  in this schedule, however, shall
   54  prevent voluntary payment of amounts higher or lower than the  fees  and
   55  charges  fixed  therein, but no physician rendering medical treatment or
   56  care, and no physical or occupational therapist rendering their  respec-
       A. 7151                             3
    1  tive  physical  or  occupational therapy services may receive payment in
    2  any higher amount unless such increased amount has  been  authorized  by
    3  the  employer,  or by decision as provided in section thirteen-g of this
    4  article.  Nothing  in  this section shall be construed as preventing the
    5  employment of a duly authorized  physician  on  a  salary  basis  by  an
    6  authorized compensation medical bureau or laboratory.
    7    S 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    8  it shall have become a law.
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