Bills Would Create Statewide Provider Network, Tweak MPN Rules, Require Annual MLFS Updates

A group of workers’ compensation bills introduced in the California Legislature this month would create a statewide medical provider network, impose new rules on networks and require the medical-legal fee schedule to be updated at least once a year. If passed, the bills could have far-reaching impacts on the state’s workers’ comp system, one year after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic rerouted discussion on some comp-related issues. Assembly Bill 1465, introduced by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, and Majority Leader Eloise Reyes, D-San Bernardino, would requi...