NY Governor Nixes Preapproval Threshold Hike

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has vetoed legislation set to increase the threshold for determining whether medical procedures need prior approval, despite overwhelming support in both the State Senate and Assembly.
The bill’s sponsors said that it would have corrected the “drastic decrease in doctors willing to participate in the workers compensation system — providers often will not perform a preauthorized procedure without receiving authorization for fear that the carrier will still deny the bills.”
S.B. 6929 would have raised the preauthorization limit for treatment that can be provided without prior approval to $1,500 from $1,000. It also would have clarified that procedures can’t be summarily denied because they’re not in the medical treatment guidelines.
The Senate voted 58-1 to pass the bill and the Assembly voted 136-5 in favor.
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Forbes Advisor is out with its recommendations of the best workers’ compensation insurance companies, with seven carriers scoring five out of five stars in the publication’s evaluation of 25 large insurers.
The five are CopperPoint, Erie, Everest Insurance, Great American, ICW, Pinnacol Assurance and Texas Mutual.
The ratings are based on the 25 insurers’ financial strength and the level of upheld workers’ comp complaints against them in 2022 to state insurance departments nationwide and collected by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, for 90% of the score.
The remaining 10% of the score is based on financial strength ratings from AM Best.
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Missouri employers will pay overall 5.3% less for workers’ compensation loss costs next year after the state’s Department of Commerce and Insurance cut rates for the fourth consecutive year
“It’s a testament to Missouri’s employers for continuing to make safety improvements in the workplace to protect their teams. A robust market with over 300 insurers actively competing for business in the workers’ compensation market gives businesses plenty of choices. I encourage Missouri’s employers to take advantage of this and shop around for the best rates.”
In adopting the recommendations of the National Council on Compensation Insurance, the changes by industry groups include: Manufacturing -3.2%; Contracting -6.2%; Office and Clerical -6.8%; and, Goods and Services -5.3%.
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The Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) is offering free Occupational Safety and Health Administration 10-Hour Construction classes in English and Spanish, Jan. 13-14.
The two-day or three-day courses are presented by authorized instructors and designed to instruct employers and their employees in the essentials of occupational safety and health in construction.
Participants who successfully complete all of the two-day in-person courses or three-day online course will receive an OSHA 10-Hour Construction class completion card (typically within six to eight weeks).
While the program is free of charge, advanced registration is required due to limited space.
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