Work Comp bill in Iowa House
nietra
134 Posts
For those of you in Iowa. Wanted to give you a heads up:
UPDATE ON EMPLOYER DIRECTED MEDICAL CARE
On Wednesday, after less than 24 hours of notice, a House subcommittee met to consider HSB 192, a bill that would overturn nearly 95-years of Iowa workers’ compensation law and eliminate employer directed medical care. Under the bill as proposed, an employee can seek any type of medical treatment he desires without any notice to the employer for up to 90 days, and then of course expect the employer to pay the bill. The employer may file a petition for alternative medical care similar to the employee’s option today. Under HSB 192, however, the employer will get a decision from the work comp commissioner’s office within 30 days, rather than the 10 days now afforded employees.
ABI lead the opposition to the bill drafted by the Iowa Trails Lawyers Association and supported by a number of labor unions. Following 45 minutes of spirited discussion, House Labor Committee Chair Rick Olson (D-Des Moines) ended the meeting by proclaiming “this bill has legs.” We expect the bill to be considered soon by the full House Labor Committee, as all bills must be passed by the committee of origin by March 9 to remain eligible for this year.
I know a number of you have contacted subcommittee members already, but now would be the time to contactyour own Representatives. Its easy to do from the ABI Political Education and Action Center - just put in your zip code and it finds them for you. Here's the link:
[url]http://www.bipac.net/lookup.asp?g=iabi[/url]
Below are members of the House Labor Committee expected to act on this bill soon.
Rick Olson (D-Des Moines), Chair
Todd Taylor (D-Cedar Rapids), Vice Chair
Lance Horbach (R-Tama), Ranking Member
Ako Abdul-Samad (D-Des Moines)
Royd Chambers (R-Sheldon)
Pat Grassley (R-New Hartford)
Bruce Hunter (D-Des Moines)
Pam Jochum (D-Dubuque)
Mary Mascher (D-Iowa City)
Pat Murphy (D-Dubuque)
Eric Palmer (D-Oskaloosa)
Christopher Rants (R-Sioux City)
Art Staed (D-Cedar Rapids)
Jodi Tymeson (R-Winterset)
Jim Van Engelenhoven (R-Pella)
Ralph Watts (R-Adel)
Cindy Winckler (D-Davenport)
John R. Gilliland
Senior Vice President, Government Relations
Iowa Association of Business and Industry
515-235-0566
[email]jgilliland@iowaabi.org[/email]
The Voice of Iowa Business Since 1903
[url]www.iowaabi.org[/url]
UPDATE ON EMPLOYER DIRECTED MEDICAL CARE
On Wednesday, after less than 24 hours of notice, a House subcommittee met to consider HSB 192, a bill that would overturn nearly 95-years of Iowa workers’ compensation law and eliminate employer directed medical care. Under the bill as proposed, an employee can seek any type of medical treatment he desires without any notice to the employer for up to 90 days, and then of course expect the employer to pay the bill. The employer may file a petition for alternative medical care similar to the employee’s option today. Under HSB 192, however, the employer will get a decision from the work comp commissioner’s office within 30 days, rather than the 10 days now afforded employees.
ABI lead the opposition to the bill drafted by the Iowa Trails Lawyers Association and supported by a number of labor unions. Following 45 minutes of spirited discussion, House Labor Committee Chair Rick Olson (D-Des Moines) ended the meeting by proclaiming “this bill has legs.” We expect the bill to be considered soon by the full House Labor Committee, as all bills must be passed by the committee of origin by March 9 to remain eligible for this year.
I know a number of you have contacted subcommittee members already, but now would be the time to contactyour own Representatives. Its easy to do from the ABI Political Education and Action Center - just put in your zip code and it finds them for you. Here's the link:
[url]http://www.bipac.net/lookup.asp?g=iabi[/url]
Below are members of the House Labor Committee expected to act on this bill soon.
Rick Olson (D-Des Moines), Chair
Todd Taylor (D-Cedar Rapids), Vice Chair
Lance Horbach (R-Tama), Ranking Member
Ako Abdul-Samad (D-Des Moines)
Royd Chambers (R-Sheldon)
Pat Grassley (R-New Hartford)
Bruce Hunter (D-Des Moines)
Pam Jochum (D-Dubuque)
Mary Mascher (D-Iowa City)
Pat Murphy (D-Dubuque)
Eric Palmer (D-Oskaloosa)
Christopher Rants (R-Sioux City)
Art Staed (D-Cedar Rapids)
Jodi Tymeson (R-Winterset)
Jim Van Engelenhoven (R-Pella)
Ralph Watts (R-Adel)
Cindy Winckler (D-Davenport)
John R. Gilliland
Senior Vice President, Government Relations
Iowa Association of Business and Industry
515-235-0566
[email]jgilliland@iowaabi.org[/email]
The Voice of Iowa Business Since 1903
[url]www.iowaabi.org[/url]
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