CS for SB 860 - Workers' Compensation System Administration

• Eliminates certification requirements for health care providers, removing the need for department certification while maintaining authorization requirements from carriers before treatment.

• Extends timeframes for dispute resolution: petitioners have 45 days (up from 30) to contest payment disallowances, carriers have 30 days (up from 10) to submit documentation, and the department has 120 days (up from 60) to render determinations.

• Reduces penalty for late notice of injury from $1,000 to $500 per violation and removes the additional $2,000 penalty for employers failing to submit more than 10% of notices within a calendar year.

• Revises temporary total disability compensation for catastrophic injuries (loss of limb, paralysis, or blindness) by removing the $700 weekly maximum cap and instead applying standard limits under section 440.12(2).

• Deletes provisions requiring removal of physicians from authorized provider lists and eliminates Office of Insurance Regulation audit requirements; transfers various administrative responsibilities from the Office to the Department of Financial Services.