Late last year, the California Division of Workers’ Compensation finalized its amendments to regulations on medical provider networks (MPNs) and the information employers must provide employees.
New Requirements
The amended regulations require all California employers to:
- Post a new “Notice to Employees—Injuries Caused by Work” poster (DWC 7).
- Provide an updated “Your Rights to Workers’ Compensation Benefits” pamphlet to new workers.
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- Use an updated Workers’ Compensation Claim Form (DWC 1) and “Notice of Potential Eligibility” form. The requirements for these documents have been revised to inform employees about the existence and use of MPNs as well as other information. You must use the updated documents even if you don’t offer an MPN.
You can download copies of the updated Notice to Employees—Injuries Caused by Work poster (DWC 7), Workers’ Compensation Claim Form (DWC 1), and Notice of Potential Eligibility here.
MPN Notices
The amendments also revise the regulations for MPN notices:
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Implementation notices. Employers that offer an MPN plan must provide a written implementation notice to every covered employer before implementation and to new employees at the time of hire. At a minimum, the notice must include the following information:
- That medical treatment for new work injuries will be provided through the MPN as of the effective date of coverage, unless the employee properly pre-designates a physician or medical group before injury.
- The effective date of coverage under the new MPN.
- That existing work injuries may be transferred into the new MPN. The worker should check with his or her claims adjuster for more information.
- That more information about the MPN can be found on the workers’ comp poster or by asking the employer.
Tomorrow, we’ll explain more of the rules for MPNs. We’ll also tell you about a workers’ comp webinar you won’t want to miss this week.
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