Members Present:

Jack Barrett
Keith Hutchinson
Dave Gribskov
Bob Shosted
Steve Millard
John Greenfield
Rian VanLeuven
Susan Dokken
Alan Gardner
Jim Nelson
Dan Obray

Members Absent:

Dave Whaley
Tracy Whigham

Minutes - It was moved and seconded that the Minutes of the September 27, 2000, meeting be approved as written. The motion passed by unanimous consent.

Recommendations - The recommendations made by the Advisory Committee at the September 27, 2000, meeting were confirmed by unanimous consent. The status of the recommendations is as follows:

Repeal of Asbestos Accreditation Rule - The repeal of IDAPA 17.04 was finalized by the Commission for publication in the Administrative Bulletin and for review by the legislature during its next regular session.

Reciprocity Agreement with Montana - The Montana Department of Labor approved the agreement with the changes recommended by the Advisory Committee and the agreement was executed by the Idaho Industrial Commission at its last administrative meeting. The agreement will be forwarded to Governor Kempthorne for approval and then submitted to the Montana Department of Labor for the appropriate signatures.

There were no reports from committees. Jack Barrett indicated that to his knowledge there was no legislation in progress that would affect the Workers' Compensation Law. Neither the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association nor the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry is proposing legislation for the upcoming session. Mr. Barrett further indicated he had heard nothing more about legislation that might be proposed on Idaho Code § 72-212, Exemptions from Coverage. Commissioner Jim Kile advised the Committee that there is a court case currently pending decision and that legislation is being held in abeyance until after the decision is issued.

Workers' Compensation Rates - Pat Rogers, Premium Tax Supervisor, Department of Insurance, presented information about the role of the Department of Insurance in setting workers' compensation rates. Idaho's worker's compensation rates will increase 6.3% in 2001. This is the first rate increase in Idaho since 1994. Rates decreased by 30% between 1995 and 2000. A copy of Ms. Rogers' presentation will be distributed to all members of the Advisory Committee. Additional information about the Department of Insurance and its role in workers' compensation is available upon request. The Department sponsors classes on workers' compensation issues from time to time, and those are open to the public.

Safety Programs - Dave Munroe, Administrator of the Division of Building Safety, presented information about the Division's role in the area of workplace safety. The Division's programs are administered on a budget of $8.9 million. Most of the agency's revenue comes from fees charged for services. The Industrial Commission funds the Industrial Safety Program and the Logging Safety Program. Additional information about the Division of Building Safety is available upon request. Gary Stivers will prepare a report on the Division of Building Safety's responsibilities as they pertain to workers' compensation. The matter will be placed on the next agenda for further discussion.

Industrial Commission Funding Projections - Don Robbins, the Industrial Commission's Financial Officer, gave an overview of the Industrial Commission's funding and expenditures in a number of hypothetical situations. Committee members requested a detailed breakdown of the Commission's budget so the Committee could review expenditures and funding sources.

Uninsured Employer Fund - Committee Chairman Jack Barrett gave an overview of the purpose of an uninsured employer fund. Although the purpose of the fund would be primarily to provide relief to injured workers who are employed by uninsured employers, it would also serve to relieve taxpayers of the burden of the costs of injuries in the workplace. Mr. Barrett inquired as to whether the Committee members would be interested in undertaking a study of the development of such a fund. It would probably be a yearlong project for a subcommittee. No members opposed the proposal. Mr. Barrett appointed Steve Millard, Alan Gardner, Rian VanLeuven, and John Greenfield to a subcommittee to study the issue. The subcommittee will report to the Advisory Committee.

Proposed Legislation - The Industrial Commission's Deputy Attorney General Blair Jaynes reviewed and discussed the Commission's proposal to amend Idaho Code § 72-517. Concern was expressed about the potential for disclosure by agencies in other states of information provided to them by the Idaho Industrial Commission. Mr. Jaynes explained that the Commission has sole discretion to determine whether the information should be released. The matter was discussed, and it was suggested that a rule be adopted under the Administrative Procedures Act spelling out the criteria for Commission discretion. Mr. Jaynes will draft a rule and present it to the Commission. The Committee agreed to support the legislation with the caveat that a rule be drafted with Committee input.

Indexed Publication of Industrial Commission Decisions - John Greenfield reported on his findings regarding the publication of Commission decisions since Myrna Sasser's retirement. He indicated that AccuScan (published by M&M Court Reporting) and West Law publish Commission decisions. West Publishing has Commission decisions back to 1996 on the internet at www.westlaw.com. Access to their database is available by subscription. No Shepardizing services are available but they are contemplating adding those to their website. Mr. Greenfield will send them a letter. He will also contact Attorney Steve Stark about the case summaries he used to publish.

Out of State Adjusting Issues - Dr. Stephen M. Maloff and Dr. S. Angier Wills, Jr., of Plastic Surgery Associates, of Pocatello commented on out-of-state adjusting issues from the medical provider's perspective. Dr. Wills addressed the Committee with regard to the problems the clinic is encountering with increasing frequency in obtaining payment for services provided to injured workers. He indicated that insurance companies are contracting with bill review companies that are not operating in Idaho and do not follow Industrial Commission rules. If a provider has a problem and contacts the surety's in-state adjuster, the provider is referred to a bill review company in another state and has to deal with the delays or shortages in payments by long distance. This causes extra hours of collection work for the provider's staff. In addition, underpayment by bill review companies for medical services provided to injured workers is the rule rather than the exception. Dr. Wills expressed concern that if this procedure continues, he and other physicians will no longer be able to treat workers' compensation patients. The time a provider has to spend filing motions to resolve underpayments or non-payment takes away time from doing surgery and increases the overall cost of practicing medicine.

Discussion was held regarding potential solutions for this problem. Dr. Wills and Dr. Maloff suggested that the Commission enforce the rules it already has in place. The effectiveness of penalties was discussed. It was suggested the penalties probably would not be a deterrent, as the costs would just be passed on to the insured.

Mike Haxby of Intermountain Claims, Boise, commented on the current trend of insurance companies contracting an increasing amount of the claim-adjusting functions out to entities other than the in-state adjuster. He agreed with Dr. Maloff and Dr. Wills about the problems with bill review companies but stated that bill review is only a small part of the out-of-state adjusting issues. He indicated that insurance companies not only contract with bill review companies, but also with nurses who do medical case management from another state. He reported that insurance companies are bypassing the in-state adjusting companies on many of the services they formerly provided. One of the problems appears to be that there is no definition in the Commission's rules on what in-state adjusting of claims is.

After discussion, it was decided that the Commission's rules should be reviewed and a letter should be sent to sureties asking for input on this problem. If any representatives of sureties wish to comment to the Committee, they should be invited to appear at the next meeting. Further discussion of the issue will be held at the next meeting.

Mr. Barrett assured Dr. Wills and Dr. Maloff that the Committee would address the issue and try to take care of it.

After discussion, it was decided that the next meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 6, 2001, beginning at 9:30 a.m. if there is legislation for the Committee to review. If there is no legislation, the meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 at 9:30 a.m.

Agenda items will include out-of-state adjusting issues, a preliminary report on the uninsured employer fund, update from John Greenfield on publication of Commission decisions, additional discussion of the Industrial Commission's budget.