Amendments Add Duty of Care Term to UR Bill, Sunset Date for Treatment Dispute Measure

California lawmakers recently amended bills to add a duty of care requirement to a measure addressing utilization review requirements, and a sunset clause in another bill would exclude time spent successfully disputing a medical treatment denial from the aggregate cap on temporary disability benefits. Sen. Dave Cortese, D-Campbell, amended Senate Bill 636 to add language that would require all employers to establish a utilization review process than ensures UR physicians have the same duty of care to an employee as a treating physician. Cortese did not substantively alter other provisio...