Oklahoma Workers’ Comp Commission to Hire External Consultant for Fee Schedule Review
The Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC) reports that as a result of the passage of legislative revisions to 2013 workers’ compensation reforms, it is required to review and update the schedule of fees by which doctors who treat injured workers can bill for their services.
Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed into law HB2367, under which the WCC will update Oklahoma’s list of Current Procedural Technology (CPT) codes, perform a line item adjustment or renewal of all workers’ compensation billing rates, and craft rules for implementation.
To complete this review and update, the WCC said it will contract with an external consultant, as outlined in Section 14.b of HB2367:
“The Commission shall contract with an external consultant with knowledge of workers’ compensation fee schedules to review regional and nationwide comparisons of Oklahoma’s Fee Schedule rates and date and market for medical services. The consultant shall receive written and oral comment from employers, workers’ compensation medical service and insurance providers, self-insureds, group self-insurance associations of this state and the public. The consultant shall submit a report of its findings and a proposed amended Fee Schedule to the Commission.”
The process of drafting a Request for Proposal (RFP) has begun with the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES). The RFP will be sent out and a bidder will be selected.
The selected consultant will review and make recommendations for any fee schedule adjustments and CPT code updates. The WCC will review and adopt recommendations as appropriate and submit its proposal to the Legislature for consideration during the 2020 legislative session.
With this deadline in mind, the WCC will be looking for bidders who are able to start the review process in the summer of 2019.
Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation system was reformed in 2013, establishing the Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act (Act). The Act created the Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC) which became fully operational effective Feb.1, 2014. The WCC provides a forum for workers’ compensation hearings and appeals, ensures compliance with relevant statutes by employers, and regulates organizations who wish to self-fund their workers’ compensation obligations.
Source: Oklahoma WCC