Oklahoma Senate Approves Massive Late-Session Work Comp Bill

The Oklahoma Senate has approved a more than 200-page bill that completely overhauls Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation laws. The proposal emerged in the Oklahoma House just three days before lawmakers are expected to adjourn the legislative session.

SB 878 has passed despite concern from some members that lawmakers had little time to comprehend the massive bill. It was approved by the Senate on a 48-0 vote. The plan is one of Republican Gov. Mary Fallin’s top legislative priorities.

It was developed by a group that spent months completely rewriting the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act.

Senate author Sen. Anthony Sykes says the group includes representatives of insurance companies, business and industry, plaintiffs and defense attorneys, and the medical community.

Among the key provisions of the bill is to adopt a nationally recognized set of treatment guidelines for work-related injuries and a requirement that the fee schedule for medical reimbursement rates be reduced by 5 percent.

The issue of addressing workers’ compensation always has proven to be a thorny one because it involves some of the most powerful lobbying influences at the state Capitol — business and industry, trial attorneys and the medical community. This year’s massive bill was a complete rewrite of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act and includes more than 80 sections of new law.

The House author of the bill, Rep. Dan Sullivan, says the primary focus of the bill has been to establish medical guidelines for treating injured workers designed to speed up the process by which employees get back on the job.

“There’s always the issue of what you do with someone who falls outside the guidelines, and those are difficult situations you can’t always anticipate,” said Sullivan, R-Tulsa. “But we have this process where they can go to the court to get that treatment approved, if the court deems it necessary. We’re hopeful that by streamlining the process, they get what they need and get back to work as quickly as possible.”

The bill directs the administrator of the Workers’ Compensation Court to reduce the fee schedule for medical reimbursement rates by 5 percent. It further requires physicians and the court to adhere to a nationally recognized set of treatment guidelines, called the Official Disability Guidelines, which is expected to dramatically reduce medical costs, said Bob Burke, an Oklahoma City attorney who represents injured workers and was involved in negotiations on the bill.

“It’s simply a set of guidelines that says you can’t just have a surgery to the back — it’s not just up to the doctor,” Burke said. “There have been allegations that we have too many surgeries in Oklahoma, and these guidelines ought to eliminate any unnecessary surgeries.”

The bill also includes a number of restrictions that reduce the number of benefits for injured workers, with a particular emphasis on reducing benefits for injuries like sprains and strains. For example, it reduces the maximum time that an injured worker can draw weekly temporary total disability benefits from six years to three years.

“Even though I’m a claimant’s attorney, I recognize that the longer someone is off work, the less likely they are able to return to gainful employment,” Burke said. “Everybody’s purpose in the comp system ought to be to provide quick and quality medical care and then quickly return the worker to the workforce. Many of the changes in this bill speed up that process.”

But some Democrats who opposed the bill said it was a complicated issue for members to digest with just a few days before lawmakers plan to wrap up their work on May 20.

“Why, after meeting all this time, has it taken so long?” asked Rep. Richard Morrissette, D-Oklahoma City.

Sullivan said the bill is the product of intense negotiations by all parties involved that have been taking place since before lawmakers convened in February.

“I would certainly have preferred to have been able to get this done sooner, but we’ve been working nights and weekends to get this done,” Sullivan said. “To do things right, it takes time. It’s not from lack of effort to move this along faster.”