This website will be unavailable from Friday, April 26, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, April 29, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.
78R16848 T
By: Carona S.B. No. 1574
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1574:
By: Giddings C.S.S.B. No. 1574
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the administration and regulation of the state's
workers' compensation insurance system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 413.0511(b), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The medical advisor shall make recommendations
regarding the adoption of rules to:
(1) develop, maintain, and review guidelines as
provided by Section 413.011, including rules regarding impairment
ratings;
(2) review compliance with those guidelines;
(3) regulate or perform other acts related to medical
benefits as required by the commission;
(4) impose sanctions or delete doctors from the
commission's list of approved doctors under Section 408.023 for:
(A) any reason described by Section 408.0231; or
(B) noncompliance with commission rules;
(5) impose conditions or restrictions as authorized by
Section 408.0231(f);
(6) receive, and share with the medical quality review
panel established under Section 413.0512, confidential
information, and other information to which access is otherwise
restricted by law, as provided by Sections 413.0512, 413.0513, and
413.0514 from the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners, the Texas
Board of Chiropractic Examiners, or other occupational licensing
boards regarding [disciplinary actions imposed on] a physician,
chiropractor, or other type of doctor who applies for registration
or is registered with the commission on the list of approved
doctors; and
(7) determine minimal modifications to the
reimbursement methodology and model used by the Medicare system as
necessary to meet occupational injury requirements.
SECTION 2. Section 413.0512(d), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) A person who serves on the medical quality review panel
is immune from suit and from civil liability [not liable in a civil
action] for an act performed, or a recommendation made, within the
scope of the person's functions as a member of the panel if the
person acts without malice and in the reasonable belief that the
action or recommendation is warranted by the facts known to that
person. In the event of a civil action brought against a member of
the panel that arises from the person's participation on the panel,
the person [in good faith as a member of the panel and] is entitled
to the same protections afforded a commission member under Section
402.010.
SECTION 3. Section 413.0513, Labor Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 413.0513. CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIREMENTS. (a)
Information collected, assembled, or maintained by or on behalf of
the commission under Section 413.0511 or 413.0512 constitutes an
investigation file for purposes of Section 402.092[,] and [that is
confidential under law,] may not be disclosed under Section
413.0511 or 413.0512 except as provided by that section[:
[(1) in a criminal proceeding;
[(2) in a hearing conducted by or on behalf of the
commission;
[(3) in a hearing conducted by another licensing or
regulatory authority, as provided in the interagency agreement; or
[(4) on a finding of good cause in an administrative or
judicial proceeding involving the enforcement of this subtitle or
in a disciplinary action under this subtitle].
(b) Confidential information, and other information to
which access is restricted by law, developed by or on behalf of the
commission under Section 413.0511 or 413.0512 is not subject to
discovery or court subpoena in any action other than:
(1) an action to enforce this subtitle brought by the
commission, an appropriate licensing or regulatory agency, or an
appropriate enforcement authority; or
(2) a criminal proceeding.
SECTION 4. Subchapter E, Chapter 413, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Sections 413.0514 and 413.0515 to read as
follows:
Sec. 413.0514. INFORMATION SHARING WITH OCCUPATIONAL
LICENSING BOARDS. (a) This section applies only to information
held by or for the commission, the Texas State Board of Medical
Examiners, and Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners that relates
to a person who is licensed or otherwise regulated by any of those
state agencies.
(b) The commission and the Texas State Board of Medical
Examiners on request or on its own initiative, may share with each
other confidential information or information to which access is
otherwise restricted by law. The commission and the Texas State
Board of Medical Examiners shall cooperate with and assist each
other when either agency is conducting an investigation by
providing information to each other that the sending agency
determines is relevant to the investigation. Except as provided by
this section, confidential information that is shared under this
section remains confidential under law and legal restrictions on
access to the information remain in effect. Furnishing information
by the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners to the commission or
by the commission to the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners
under this Subsection does not constitute a waiver of privilege or
confidentiality as established by law.
(c) Information that is received by the commission from the
Texas State Board of Medical Examiners or by the Texas State Board
of Medical Examiners from the commission remains confidential, may
not be disclosed by the commission except as necessary to further
the investigation, and shall be exempt from disclosure under Labor
Code Section 402.092 and Section 413.0513.
(d) The commission and the Texas Board of Chiropractic
Examiners on request or on its own initiative, may share with each
other confidential information or information to which access is
otherwise restricted by law. The commission and the Texas Board of
Chiropractic Examiners shall cooperate with and assist each other
when either agency is conducting an investigation by providing
information to each other that is relevant to the investigation.
Except as provided by this section, confidential information that
is shared under this section remains confidential under law and
legal restrictions on access to the information remain in effect
unless the agency sharing the information approves use of the
information by the receiving agency for enforcement purposes.
Furnishing information by the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners
to the commission or by the commission to the Texas Board of
Chiropractic Examiners under this Subsection does not constitute a
waiver of privilege or confidentiality as established by law.
(e) Information that is received by the commission from the
Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners or by the Texas Board of
Chiropractic Examiners remains confidential and may not be
disclosed by the commission except as necessary to further the
investigation unless the agency sharing the information and the
agency receiving the information agree to use of the information by
the receiving agency for enforcement purposes.
(f) The commission and the Texas State Board of Medical
Examiners shall provide information to each other on all
disciplinary actions taken.
(g) The commission and the Texas Board of Chiropractic
Examiners shall provide information to each other on all
disciplinary actions taken.
Sec. 413.0515. REPORTS OF PHYSICIAN AND CHIROPRACTOR
VIOLATIONS. (a) If the commission or the Texas State Board of
Medical Examiners discovers an act or omission by a physician that
may constitute a felony, a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, a
violation of state or federal narcotics or controlled substance
law, an offense involving fraud or abuse under the Medicare or
Medicaid program, or a violation of this subtitle, the agency shall
report that act or omission to the other agency.
(b) If the commission or the Texas Board of Chiropractic
Examiners discovers an act or omission by a chiropractor that may
constitute a felony, a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, a
violation of state or federal narcotics or controlled substance
law, an offense involving fraud or abuse under the Medicare or
Medicaid program, or a violation of this subtitle, the agency shall
report that act or omission to the other agency.
SECTION 5. Section 160.006(a), Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A record, report, or other information received and
maintained by the board under this subchapter or Subchapter B,
including any material received or developed by the board during an
investigation or hearing and the identity of, and reports made by, a
physician performing or supervising compliance monitoring for the
board, is confidential. The board may disclose this information
only:
(1) in a disciplinary hearing before the board or in a
subsequent trial or appeal of a board action or order;
(2) to the physician licensing or disciplinary
authority of another jurisdiction, to a local, state, or national
professional medical society or association, or to a medical peer
review committee located inside or outside this state that is
concerned with granting, limiting, or denying a physician hospital
privileges;
(3) under a court order; [or]
(4) to qualified personnel for bona fide research or
educational purposes, if personally identifiable information
relating to any physician or other individual is first deleted; or
(5) to the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission as
provided by Section 413.0514, Labor Code.
SECTION 6. Section 408.047, Labor Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 408.047. STATE AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE. The state average
weekly wage for the fiscal year beginning September 1, 2003 and
ending August 31, 2004 is $537, and for the fiscal year beginning
September 1, 2004 and ending August 31, 2005 is $539 [equals the
annual average of the average weekly wage of manufacturing
production workers in this state, as determined by the Texas
Employment Commission].
SECTION 7. Section 413.0512(d), Labor Code, as amended by
this Act, applies to a member of the medical quality review panel
regardless of whether the person is a member of the panel at the
time the action is brought.
SECTION 8. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply to
information maintained by or on behalf of the Texas Workers'
Compensation Commission, the Texas State Board of Medical
Examiners, or the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners without
regard to the date the information is collected, compiled,
developed, or shared between the agencies.
(b) This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote
of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided
by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does
not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes
effect September 1, 2003.