Nevans Guided DWC Through Turbulent Times

Wednesday, February 16, 2011 | 0

By Julius Young
Boxer & Gerson

There was word this week that California Division of Workers' Compensation Acting Administrator Carrie Nevans passed away last weekend.

Nevans guided the DWC through some turbulent years. The 2003 and 2004 legislative reforms mandated extensive regulatory changes.

Under Nevans' leadership the DWC undertook a huge regulatory burden.

In 2004, regs implemented included claim form regulations, lien filing fee regulations, medical fee schedule regs and spinal second opinion regulations.

In 2005 there were regs on independent medical review, medical provider networks, return to work, and predesignation of personal physician. And in 2005 the DWC adopted a controversial schedule for rating permanent disabilities.

2006 saw adoption of medical-legal fee schedule regs and workers' compensation information system regs.

In 2007 there were regulations on the MTUS (medical treatment utilization schedule), administrative penalties, and physician and pharmacy fee schedules.

Adopted in 2008 were regs on benefit notices, the EAMS filing system and ethical standards for workers' compensation judges.

During 2009, audit regulations were adopted as well as regs on HCOs (health care organizations), more MTUS regs, and QME regs.

In 2010 there were ambulance fee schedule regulations, Medical provider network and other notice regs, and workers' compensation information system (WCIS) regs.

At the time of Nevans' death, a number of regulatory efforts were in process, including ones dealing with medical payments to doctors, electronic medical billing, hospital inpatient fees, ambulatory surgery center fees, and more. Many of these are part of the Schwarzenegger administration's 12 point plan to control medical cost escalation through regulatory action.

Some of the regulations adopted by Nevans are likely to be with us for years. Others are likely candidates for further revision by the Brown Administration, or fodder for future legislative deals.

But the sheer magnitude of the items accomplished under Nevans' tenure mark her leadership as one of the most significant in DWC history.

In her role Nevans caught quite a bit of flak from applicant attorneys, injured workers' and some in the medical provider community.

Yet Nevans was widely seen as attempting to implement the complex requirements of the law with fairness and competence. That's not easy, given the fact that workers' compensation involves the intersection of significant divergent monetary interests and stakeholders with conflicting agendas.

Eventually Nevans unveiled a draft revision of the 2005 PDRS, but it was never adopted. Eventually we'll have a clearer record of the internal history of the DWC during that time and its relationship to decision makers up the food chain, including some of the Schwarzenegger confidantes in "the horseshoe" at the Capitol.

I've been told off the record that Nevans pushed for changes in the schedule but was not allowed to implement those changes.

I never knew Nevans personally. My impression was that she sought to stay out of the limelight as much as possible.

But I admired her ability to run the division, particularly given that she was apparently dealing with her own health challenges during some of the time.

If there was a flag at the DWC to be flown, it would be at half mast this week as her untimely demise is noted.

Julius Young is an applicants' attorney for the Boxer & Gerson law firm in Oakland. This column was reprinted with his permission from his blog, http:///www.workerscompzone.com