Montgomery: WCB Provider Webinar Series Returns Tuesday

Friday, August 14, 2026 | 0

New York’s Workers’ Compensation Board will host the next installment of its "What Providers Need to Know" webinar series from noon to 1 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday. 

Catherine Montgomery

The session is free and includes time for live Q&A.

WCB Medical Director Dr. James Tacci and colleagues will share the latest on fee schedule increases, improvements to the deposition process, and universal provider authorization to treat injured workers, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2028.

That is what it looks like when a state regulatory agency treats providers as partners in a mission to improve the system. Compare that to the opposite coast, where the California Division of Workers’ Compensation offers providers nothing comparable. 

WCB: cultivating provider participation in comp

For as long as daisyBill has done business in New York, the WCB has demonstrated a willingness to keep providers informed and supported.

The agency has built an online support infrastructure, with its “home base” on the "What Providers Need to Know" section of the WCB website, which walks doctors through how to participate in the system, shares important considerations when treating injured workers and explains the billing process. A “Provider Updates” section keeps the page current with the latest news. 

The "Who Can Treat" page organizes resources by discipline so that physicians, physical therapists, chiropractors and even providers ineligible for board authorization (such as dentists or therapy assistants) can find guidance tailored to their eligibility requirements, applicable treatment guidelines, telehealth rules and authorization procedures. 

The WCB pairs these materials with downloadable training resources and a recurring webinar series that updates providers on legislative and regulatory changes that impact practices, recording each session and uploading it to the agency’s YouTube channel.

DWC? Not so much

While the WCB actively seeks to incentivize provider participation in the state’s comp system, California's approach seems marked by inertia and indifference.

A recurring webinar series with the latest updates and Q&A sessions seems unthinkable, especially from an agency that can’t even update basic information on mandatory forms correctly, assign billing disputes for independent review on time or keep critical facts visible on its website. 

Worse, the agency consistently fails in its basic duty to uphold payment laws and regulations and to otherwise protect providers from abuse. DaisyBill has submitted audit complaints to the DWC, reporting hundreds of thousands of documented violations of state laws and regulations, with no substantive result, even where clear and prolonged patterns of noncompliance arguably suggest an established business practice.

New York is poised to authorize tens of thousands of providers to take on comp patients, while in California, major health systems are explicitly closing their doors to injured workers.

New York and its WCB continue to set the standard for provider engagement in workers’ comp. Other state comp agencies (one in particular) have much to learn.

Catherine Montgomery is the co-founder and CEO of daisyBill, a provider of workers' comp end-to-end revenue cycle management software. This post appears with permission.