CPF

CPF-Backed Plan Eliminates Time Limit on Physician Predesignation

 

Senator Carole Migden (D - San Francisco)

Senator Carole Midgen (D - San Francisco) has introduced CPF co-sponsored legislation to maintain the right of some injured workers, including firefighters, to predesignate their treating physicians and see their own doctors if they get injured on the job. This legislation, SB 1338, would eliminate the current 2009 date on which the right to predesignated is scheduled to sunset.  

The predesignation of a treating physician for workers' compensation purposes is an important protection against the forced use of an employer-chosen doctor following a work place injury. Employees who are allowed to see their own doctors after sustaining a work place injury typically return to work sooner because their satisfaction level is higher. As a result, employer costs are significantly reduced given that they no longer have to put the time and resources into finding and training new, replacement personnel or incur increased overtime costs to backfill personnel gaps. This also means trained, experienced public safety officers are back on duty in a timelier manner.

In 2006, AB 2068 (Nava - Chapter Number 819, Statutes of 2006) took on this issue and was signed into law, securing the right of injured workers to see the doctor of their choice if they were injured on the job. However, under AB 2068, this right would only be afforded until 2009. This type of employee protection should not have a time stamp or ending date, which is why CPF is proud to co-sponsor SB 1338 to delete the existing predesignation sunset date.

SB 1338 was approved by the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee, 3 to 1, and was released from the Senate Appropriations Suspense File by a vote of 8 to 4.  SB 1338 was most recently approved the entire Senate by a vote of 25 to 15, and is now in the Assembly, where it was recently approved by the Assembly Insurance Committee, 7 to 3, and the Assembly Appropriations Committee, 11 to 4.  It was most recently approved by the entire Assembly, 47 to 30, and is now headed to the Governor's Desk.