Legislative Preview for Work Comp in 2016

Common wisdom suggests that major workers’ compensation legislative activity won’t take place during an election year. For 2016, that would seem to hold true. That is not to say, however, that various interested parties will be sitting idly by, waiting for the clock to turn to 2017. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL ADD TO THE LIST OF CHRONIC PAIN GUIDELINES On Jan. 13, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) closed the public comment period for its proposed Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain. According to the CDC, the guideline is being proposed to offer “... clarity on recommendations based on the most recent scientific evidence, informed by expert opinion, with stakeholder and constituent input considered.” The guideline goes to great lengths to address two important issues. The first is that current guidelines in many states – both public and private – are based on dated information. The second, which is critical, adds to the growing number of voices to say that best practices for providers include accessing physician drug monitoring programs (PDMP) to reduce the risk of doctor shopping and toxic – and sometimes fatal – mixtures of prescription drugs when the patient provides incomplete histories or none at all of their drug use (both prescription and illicit). This need to access a PDMP before, and during, treatment with opioids is echoed by the Medical Board of California (MBC) and the DWC. Their comments also underscore a considerable problem facing California policymakers when trying to create incentives for providers to use the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) without directly mandating access. This dilemma is best summed up by the analysis of Senate Bill 482 by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D – Bell Gardens) that is at the Assembly Desk pending referral to committee. The bill, which would mandate participation in the CURES system as well as other measures to curb the abuse of opioids, has garnered opposition from medical associations and one medical malpractice insurer. The opposition, according to analyses by legislative staff, is based on two issues – the first being whether the CURES system is capable of handling the volume of inquiries a mandate would engender, and the second being concern that requiring CURES access will become a standard of care that could subject providers to malpractice liability. As to the former, this issue arose during the campaign waged against the 2014 ballot measure Proposition 46. According to the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), “Currently, CURES does not have sufficient capacity to handle the higher level of use that is expected to occur when providers are required to register beginning in 2016.” This raises an important question – does the CURES system now have the capability to meet the demand that a mandate would create? If it doesn’t, then the legislature needs to understand why. As to the second issue, it is difficult to comprehend the level of distrust that is subsumed in the position that opposing a mandatory review of possible prescription drug abuse by a patient would establish more potential malpractice liability than knowing that the CURES database exists and not checking it. In time, perhaps, it will be the appellate courts that resolve that issue. There is no shortage of guidelines that address the appropriate use and cessation of use of opioids for non-cancer chronic pain. The DWC is finalizing its latest iteration on this issue as part of the MTUS. It will differ from both the CDC and the MBC guidelines to some degree, but the overall treatment of this issue is very similar. In addition, the division will be implementing a prescription drug formulary as required by Assembly Bill 1124 by former Assembly member Henry Perea (D – Fresno). That, too, will likely provide opportunities to address the proper use of opioids in the workers’ compensation context, preferably after the chronic pain guidelines are completed. As noted by the CDC and the MBC, and implicit in the DWC’s guidelines, this is not just a question of UR. If all the work by the division is simply viewed as a more effective way of saying “no” regardless of the circumstances, then the public health issues associated with the abuses of opioids will continue. Workers' Compensation Insights is a bi-monthly publication of Prop 23 Advisors. Subscribers will receive in-depth analyses of pending California legislation and regulations, review of important WCAB and appellate court decisions and commentary on trends within the system in California and nationally. To read the rest of this newsletter, click here.