CS for SB 1582 - Workers' Compensation Insurance

• Increases maximum temporary disability benefits from 104 weeks to 260 weeks for both temporary total and temporary partial disability.

• Designates multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma as occupational diseases for firefighters arising from work-related exposure.

• Requires insurance carriers to authorize or deny medical treatment requests within 3 business days; changes various notice and reporting timeframes from calendar days to business days.

• Revises attorney fee provisions to establish a maximum hourly rate of $250 per hour and specifies six factors judges must consider when adjusting fees from the statutory schedule.

• Restructures workers' compensation insurance rate filings to require individual insurer filings of final rates based on approved prospective loss costs filed by rating organizations, effective July 1, 2018.

• Creates new requirements for insurers to file and limit "defense and cost containment expenses" to 15 percent of incurred losses, with excess amounts to be refunded to policyholders.