Spring is around the corner. And as routinely as one engages in the initial spring cleaning of one’s home, once again, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce Workers’ Compensation Executive Committee has submitted its latest proposal to further limit the rights of injured workers. This week, we will look at the changes the chamber proposes to make in the managed care arena.
Put simply, the chamber’s proposal in the managed care arena is to extend an injured worker’s treatment with the insurance carrier’s panel doctors from 90 to 180 days. The chamber purports to prevent “doctor shopping,” but in reality doctor shopping is the chamber’s goal; get the injured worker to a hometown doctor who renders a minimal diagnosis and an immediate return to work, no matter the severity of the worker’s injuries.
