The Office of Administrative Law has approved the Division of Workers’ Compensation update of the Copy Service Schedule, effective July 15, 2022.
Notes
i. 9981 Subsection (e) was added to address the problem of untimely-paid bills.
See: “(e) Bills must be paid or contested within thirty days of receipt by the claims administrator. If a bill is not paid within this period, then the unpaid portion of the billed sum will be increased by 25 percent.”
ii. New section 9984 mirrors 9983 except that it raises the flat rate from $180 to $230 on and after July 15, 2022 and proposes $10 for each additional set of records instead of a tiered system of $5 or $30 based on when an additional electronic set is requested.
iii. Fees for records from WCIRB and EDD are no longer provided under section 9984 because WCIRB records are available to injured workers at less cost than $225 upon request and EDD records are available to injured workers at no cost upon request.
iv. 9982 Subsection (d)(3) was added to prevent medical providers from improperly charging for inspection of records.
See: “(d) There will be no payment for copy and related services that are: (3) Provided by a medical provider, or by an agent of the provider, when the requesting party has employed a professional photocopier to obtain the records.”
v. 9982 Subsection (e)(4) to avoid unnecessary costs.
See: “(e) The claims administrator is not liable for payment of: (4) Charges for records submitted to the Independent Medical Review Organization (IMRO) for independent medical review, where the submitted records are already in the possession of the injured worker or the injured worker’s representative or are duplicative of those submitted to the IMRO by the claims administrator.”
vi. 9982 Subsection (e)(5) was added to limit liability for copy service costs in cases with quashed subpoenas.
See: “(e) The claims administrator is not liable for payment of: (5) Charges for services related to, or cancellation of, a subpoena for records in the employer’s, claims administrator’s, or workers’ compensation insurer’s possession, with an order quashing the subpoena.”
vii. 9982 Subsection (e)(6) added a provision that claims administrators are not liable for payment of more than four CNRs on a claim.
See: “(e) The claims administrator is not liable for payment of: (6) More than four Certificates of No Record (CNR) on a claim with dates of service on or after July 15, 2022.”
viii. 9983 Subsection (b)(1) added “for paper copies” as additional costs are not incurred with large amounts of electronic pages.
See: “(b) In addition to the flat rate allowed in subdivision (a)(1), the following separate rates may be charged: (1) For paper copies, ten cents ($0.10) per page if the document is over 500 pages.”
ix. §9985. Disputes over the production of records may be resolved by filing a petition with the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, or by filing a petition with a superior court pursuant to Labor Code section 132.
