06 LC 36
0180
House
Bill 1509
By:
Representatives Harbin of the
118th
and Burmeister of the
119th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Code Section 34-9-205 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to the promulgation of a
workerś
compensation fee schedule, so as to require the promulgation of standards for
the exemption of medical providers from the
workerś
compensation fee schedule; to require that certain kinds of medical servicees
shall not be subject to any fee schedule but shall be limited by usual,
customary, and reasonable charge levels; to provide for related matters; to
repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Code
Section 34-9-205, relating to the promulgation of a
workerś
compensation fee schedule, is amended by adding a new subsection (d) to read as
follows:
"(d)
The board shall annually review all of the medical services to which any fee
schedule, published pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section, applies and
shall annually promulgate written guidelines and standards pursuant to which the
providers of certain types of medical services, as designated in such guidelines
and standards, may apply for and receive an exemption from such fee schedule.
Fee schedule exemptions provided by the board shall not be limited to or based
on the fact that a hospital or other medical facility that provides only one
type of medical service, such as free standing rehabilitation or long-term acute
care hospitals. The board shall promulgate written guidelines which shall
exempt from the fee schedule the hospitalization, and other medical services,
required by patients who have suffered certain designated types of injuries so
that the injuries so designated reflect a wide disparity of initial patient
injury acuity and a wide variance between the level of medical services required
to treat such patients such that ultimately the level of medical charges
resulting from the care and treatment of such patients may vary widely. Such
exemptions shall be provided for, but not necessarily limited to, all of the
medical services required by patients who have suffered head injuries, burn
injuries, spinal injuries, injuries requiring lengthy periods of rehabilitation,
or other such injuries. Notwithstanding the fee schedule exemption required as
specified in this subsection, the level of charges to be paid to the providers
of such exempt care shall be limited to the usual, customary, and reasonable
hospital charge levels prevailing in this state for the treatment of injured
persons having similar injuries and requiring similar levels of medical
services."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.