Assemblyman Says His Bill Targets Two Types of Fraud

Monday, August 29, 2016 | 3

California Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, said he decided to “take the bull by the horns” in introducing legislation to fight workers’ compensation fraud in the state.

Assemblyman Adam Gray

In a commentary in the Modesto Bee on Thursday, Gray said his Assembly Bill 1244 “will eliminate some of the biggest scams that cost honest businesses and honest injured workers" more than an estimated $1 billion every year. The bill, as amended in the Senate, was approved by the Assembly Insurance Committee on Thursday.

Gray said in his opinion column that the bill targets two types of fraud. In one type, medical providers who have been banned from Medicaid or Medi-Cal for overbilling “have moved their scams into the workers’ compensation system,” he said. Such providers would be banned from practicing in the workers’ compensation system under AB 1244.

The legislation also targets another type of fraud, in which lawyers sign up people they’ve never talked to for workers’ compensation cases in distant cities. They then settle the cases for their fees, often as the worker remains unaware of what’s happening, he said.

To combat the practice, Gray said, AB 1244 would require lawyers to sign a statement that they have interviewed and informed the worker where the claim will be filed. If lawyers lie, they could lose their licenses.