Appropriations Committee Passes Fraud Bills

The California Assembly Appropriations Committee passed a pair of fraud-fighting bills that would create a new unit within the Division of Workers’ Compensation and close a loophole that allows providers convicted of fraud to try to collect on liens before they’re suspended from participating in the state’s comp program. The committee on Wednesday unanimously passed AB 1697, a bill by the Assembly Insurance Committee that would require the Division of Workers’ Compensation to create an “antifraud support unit” charged with coordinating fraud-fighting a...