Division Adopts Rules Ending Exemption for Accredited Work Hardening

Texas Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Cassie Brown has approved regulations that remove an exemption for credentialed work hardening and work conditioning providers from mandatory preauthorization. At the same time, however, the division dropped a proposal to decrease maximum fees for accredited facilities to the same rate as non-accredited facilities in response to input from the public. The proposed change to Texas Administrative Code 134.230 would have amounted to a $13-per-hour pay cut for accredited providers, saving insurers an estimated $200,000 annually. The division sai...