Upon motion by Rian Van Leuven and seconded by Alan Gardner, the Minutes of March 18, 2003 were approved as written.

(John Greenfield, Alan Gardner, Jack Barrett, Keith Hutchinson)

John Greenfield reported that although the Department of Health and Welfare's (DHW) legislation was not submitted to the 2003 legislature, the changes proposed by the subcommittee and Commission were acceptable to DHW.

Alan Gardner reported that he has been unable to contact subcommittee chair, Steve Millard, and therefore has no knowledge of the progress on the medical release form.

Jack Barrett informed the committee that each provider and surety is using their own forms, which is causing major problems in obtaining medical records. Mr. Barrett suggested contacting the President of the Idaho Medical Association to ask for their involvement in addressing this problem.

Mr. Gardner and Mr. Barrett will proceed with drafting a medical release form that would be acceptable to all medical providers in workers' compensation cases.

Chairman Dave Whaley suggested that subcommittee meetings be scheduled in the afternoons at the conclusion of the Advisory Meetings.

Commissioner Kile discussed the Commission's HIPAA regulation form letter that has been sent to providers by the Commission to try to relieve some of the anxiety over privacy issues. Director Mindy Montgomery explained that these forms are used by the Commission's Rehabilitation Department when they run into difficulty obtaining medical records. Sue Dokken suggested that the Commission send these form letters to all providers.

Bob Shosted reported their subcommittee had not met since the last Advisory meeting, but that the Commission was working on different avenues to resolve the budget crisis. Commissioner Limbaugh stated that the Commission was nineteen percent (19%) under budget at the end of April and spent $365,000 less than last year at the same time. New projections indicate the possibility of sufficient funding through 2005 unless a change in employee compensation is given. The Commissioners recently met with the Governor's Chief of Staff, Brian Whitlock and Policy Advisor, David Lehman, to update them on our financial situation, and discuss possible remedies that include increasing premium taxes by ½%, finding another funding source for DBS or cutting Industrial Commission services. IACI is working with the Industrial Commission to find another funding source for the Division of Building Safety. The Commissioners will be contacting legislators to conduct a presentation on the Industrial Commission's financial proposals, and will report back to the Advisory Committee the reactions of the legislators.

Jack Barrett requested that legislators be advised on the legalities of using premium taxes for programs not directly related to workers compensation. Dave Whaley and Mr. Barrett agreed that logging safety should remain with the Commission.

Dave Gribskov reported that the subcommittee has met twice since the last Advisory Meeting and will meet again on July 15, 2003. The State Insurance Fund, Liberty Northwest, and Corvel have provided the subcommittee and the Commission with their data on medical fees charged in the state of Idaho. This information will be used to create a database for resolving medical fee disputes. The subcommittee will then work towards defining a maximum percentage for payment of fees charged. The subcommittee is also looking into drafting an affidavit for providers attesting that the charges submitted on workers' compensation claims are their usual and customary fees. Benefits Administration's Bureau Chief, Alan Conilogue, supports the affidavit as it holds providers accountable for statements of usual and customary charges.

Alan Conilogue is drafting a letter to all insurance carriers asking for their medical charge data. A copy of the draft will be available for review at the next Advisory Meeting.

Redacting Decisions for Publication

Chair Tracy Whigam reported that the subcommittee met to research the difficulties attorneys are having with published Commission decisions being redacted. It was suggested that the law be changed in order to ensure that published decisions would not have to be redacted. John Greenfield stated that when the Commission sits as a judicial or a quasi-judicial body that decides on cases, it is the same as a magistrate or district court, both of who publish without redacting. Mr. Greenfield also believes the Industrial Commission Referees' income should be brought more in alignment with what magistrate and district judges are paid. Commissioner Kile proposed that another solution may be to take the decisions off the website. Jack Barrett would like to have the subcommittee work on changing the rules to alleviate the need for redacting Commission decisions. It was also suggested that the amount of medical information written in the decisions be reduced.

Woody Richards, Attorney with Moffatt Thomas Law Office, spoke on behalf of IACI and several insurance carriers. He indicated that these groups do not support the current use of premium taxes to fund elevator and public building inspections. They would support these activities being funded by user fees and the general fund.

Commissioner Kile reported that the Commissioners would be traveling to Lewiston and Coeur d'Alene June 26 and 27, to conduct the final meetings to hear comments on the proposed changes to the Judicial Rules. Written comments will be accepted until July 31, 2003. After the comment period a revised draft will be given to the Advisory Committee for review, and will also be sent to the attorneys who attended the meetings or sent in written comments. The Commission hopes to have the final revision of the Judicial Rules completed for distribution at the Annual Workers' Comp Seminar the first part of November.

Commissioner Kile stated that the Commission issued a decision a week after this case was received back from the Supreme Court. The Commission's decision states overtime hours are to be included as straight time pay when calculating the average weekly wage of claimants.

Commissioner Limbaugh discussed briefly the Commission staff's proposals in the draft revision of IDAPA 17.02.03. The Commissioner suggested that the proposed rule changes might be done in separate drafts. One draft would be for minor changes for purposes of clean up, and the other for more substantive changes. It was decided by consensus that a subcommittee be formed to review the proposed changes. The subcommittee should include special members from the surety and employer community as well. Tracy Whigam will contact the suggested special members to ask for their participation. The subcommittee members are:

Commissioner Maynard stated that Deputy Attorney Blair Jaynes, Financial Officer Don Robbins, and Benefits Administration Bureau Chief Alan Conilogue would be available for participation in the subcommittee meetings as well.

The IDAPA 17.02.03 Rule Revision Subcommittee scheduled their first meeting for July 18, 2003 at 9:00 a.m. at the Industrial Commission. The managers from the Commission will present an overview of the reasons for the changes they are requesting.

Dave Gribskov with Liberty Northwest asked attorney Monte Whittier to report on the fees being charged by doctors for depositions and conferences. Mr. Whittier stated that some doctors are now charging $1,000 or more per hour for their participation in a deposition or conference, and that many doctors are asking for a large sum of money up front before a deposition is taken or a conference is held. These exorbitant costs are inhibiting the cases being presented to the Commission.

Jack Barrett and Keith Hutchinson suggested that the Commission regulate these fees by way of a cap on these charges. Mr. Hutchinson volunteered to contact the Idaho Medical Association to seek their help in regulating these charges. Dave Gribskov will contact Liberty Northwest's legal department to research what surrounding states are doing to curb these charges.

Dave Whaley and Tracy Whigam informed the members that they would be willing to serve another term on the Advisory Committee. Nominations for a workers' representative will also be accepted to replace Dan Obray who is unable to complete his term.

Mike Taylor with NCCI reported that carrier insolvency is on the rise and several states have incurred increased costs. Nationally medical costs are increasing but frequency is decreasing, and prescription drug costs have increased 150% to 200%. Mr. Taylor will put together for the committee a list of states that have adjusted their medical fee payments.

The next meeting of the Advisory Committee was set for Tuesday, August 12, 2003. The agenda for the Committee’s next meeting will include the following subcommittee reports:

Medical Release Form

Medical Fees

Medical Charge Data Request Letter

Proposed Legislation for Redacting Decisions for Publication

Industrial Commission's Financial Status

IDAPA 17.02.03 Revisions