Relating to the choice of doctor to treat an injured employee under workers’ compensation laws and including applicability date provisions

An employer or an employer’s insurer shall not coerce or otherwise attempt to influence an injured employee’s choice of a physician. If the employer fails to provide such notification, an injured employee has the right to choose any physician to provide treatment for the work-related injury and that treatment shall be considered authorized care. If the employer or employee is dissatisfied with the care chosen by the other party, the dissatisfied party is required to communicate the basis of dissatisfaction to the other party in writing and the parties may agree to alternate care reasonably suited to treat the injury. If the parties cannot agree to such alternate care, the dissatisfied party may make an application for alternate care to the commissioner. An application for alternate care is an original proceeding and is treated as a contested case. A party may request that the hearing be held in person, by telephone, or by audio-video conference. The commissioner is required to issue a decision within 10 working days of receipt of an application made pursuant to a telephone hearing or audio-video conference hearing and within 14 days of an in-person hearing.39 is amended to provide that if the employee has chosen care, when it is medically indicated that no significant improvement from an injury is anticipated, the employee may obtain a medical opinion regarding the extent of the employee’s permanent disability from the employee’s physician. If the employer believes that the evaluation of permanent disability obtained by the employee is too high, the employer has the right to obtain another medical opinion from a physician of the employer’s choosing. The bill applies to injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2020.