Governor’s bill would lower benefits for workers
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Phil Bredesen’s plan to make workers’ compensation less costly to businesses would reduce benefits significantly for injured employees, but he says it’s necessary to ensure they continue to have work.
“It’s about trying to make sure that we remain competitive in our state and that we do not lose jobs to surrounding states because our workers’ comp costs are out of line,” the governor said Tuesday as his bill was being presented to lawmakers.
Bredesen said businesses will save an estimated $30 million to $35 million annually as a result of his 13-point plan, but his staff said they’re not yet comfortable with the numbers they’ve been crunching.
Labor Commissioner Jim Neeley said the administration believes the cost of workers’ comp insurance premiums also will decline if the bill is signed into law, although there is no guarantee.
The most controversial aspect of the legislation is a reduction of the “multiplier” that determines how much money a worker who returns to work receives in workers’ comp benefits.
Currently, a judge is allowed to increase a doctor’s determination of impairment by up to 2.5 times. Bredesen’s bill would reduce that to 1.5 times, which the governor says would bring Tennessee more in line with neighboring states.
That’s the most troubling provision to Sen. Joe Haynes, who co-chairs a workers’ comp oversight committee and agreed to present the bill to his colleagues. He hasn’t decided yet whether he will sponsor it.
“I’m going to sleep on it,” said Haynes, the Democratic leader from Goodlettsville and attorney who has represented injured workers. “I want what’s best for jobs in Tennessee and the best for our workers.”
Jim Bilbo, president of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, said the bill would reduce compensation by at least 40 percent to permanently injured workers and that “it will be devastating for many families.”
He said the state’s workers’ compensation costs are not out of line with neighboring states, ranking fifth of the nine surrounding states and 29th nationally.
Jerry Lee, president of the state’s AFL-CIO union, said the legislation does go too far in cutting benefits but “there are definitely some good things.”
“I do think the administration tried to be comprehensive in its approach and not just cut benefits, and we appreciate that,” Lee said.
The bill increases benefits for higher-paid employees who now can make no more than 100 percent of the state’s average weekly wage ($618) while recovering from on-the-job injuries. The cap would increase to 105 percent in fiscal 2005 and then to 110 percent in subsequent years.
And employers would be penalized under the bill if an injured worker doesn’t get benefits in a timely manner.
The legislation also would make mandatory the mediation-style “benefit-review conferences” that are now optional, in hopes of keeping more cases out of court.
It requires training of judges in hopes of making their rulings more consistent. Legislators heard several stories of workers’ attorneys “shopping” for judges known to provide larger awards.
Bredesen’s plan also would require the state Department of Labor to set up fee limits for doctors by July 1, 2005, which drew immediate criticism from lawmakers afraid physicians will refuse to handle workers’ comp cases if reimbursement is set too low.
Sen. Bill Clabough, R-Maryville, said that between the governor’s proposed changes to TennCare and workers’ compensation, “I’ve never seen one particular industry attacked so much as medical providers without any input whatsoever.”
Bredesen said he spoke to doctors at the Tennessee Medical Association’s annual meeting last week and believes they understand the need for the fee schedules.
The governor said the bill was written in collaboration with lawmakers, and protects workers as well as their employers.
“It also makes the system more predictable,” Bredesen said. “Part of the trick in getting good insurance rates from people is to have a system where it’s easier to evaluate, to make it predictable.”
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On the Net:
Read SB3424/HB3531 at http://www.legislature.state.tn.us