1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to workers' compensation; requiring that all 
  1.3             health care provider disciplines use current 
  1.4             procedural terminology coding for workers' 
  1.5             compensation reimbursement; amending Minnesota 
  1.6             Statutes 1996, section 176.136, subdivision 1a. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 176.136, 
  1.9   subdivision 1a, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 1a.  [RELATIVE VALUE FEE SCHEDULE.] The liability of 
  1.11  an employer for services included in the medical fee schedule is 
  1.12  limited to the maximum fee allowed by the schedule in effect on 
  1.13  the date of the medical service, or the provider's actual fee, 
  1.14  whichever is lower.  The medical fee schedule effective on 
  1.15  October 1, 1991, shall remain in effect until the commissioner 
  1.16  adopts a new schedule by permanent rule.  The commissioner shall 
  1.17  adopt permanent rules regulating fees allowable for medical, 
  1.18  chiropractic, podiatric, surgical, and other health care 
  1.19  provider treatment or service, including those provided to 
  1.20  hospital outpatients, by implementing a relative value fee 
  1.21  schedule to be effective on October 1, 1993.  The commissioner 
  1.22  may adopt by reference the relative value fee schedule adopted 
  1.23  for the federal Medicare program or a relative value fee 
  1.24  schedule adopted by other federal or state agencies.  The 
  1.25  relative value fee schedule shall contain reasonable 
  1.26  classifications including, but not limited to, classifications 
  2.1   that differentiate among health care provider disciplines, so 
  2.2   long as all health care provider disciplines use the current 
  2.3   procedural terminology coding as published by the American 
  2.4   Medical Association.  The conversion factors for the original 
  2.5   relative value fee schedule must reasonably reflect a 15 percent 
  2.6   overall reduction from the medical fee schedule most recently in 
  2.7   effect.  The reduction need not be applied equally to all 
  2.8   treatment or services, but must represent a gross 15 percent 
  2.9   reduction. 
  2.10     After permanent rules have been adopted to implement this 
  2.11  section, the conversion factors must be adjusted annually on 
  2.12  October 1 by no more than the percentage change computed under 
  2.13  section 176.645, but without the annual cap provided by that 
  2.14  section.  The commissioner shall annually give notice in the 
  2.15  State Register of the adjusted conversion factors and may also 
  2.16  give annual notice of any additions, deletions, or changes to 
  2.17  the relative value units or service codes adopted by the federal 
  2.18  Medicare program.  The relative value units may be statistically 
  2.19  adjusted in the same manner as for the original workers' 
  2.20  compensation relative value fee schedule.  The notices of the 
  2.21  adjusted conversion factors and additions, deletions, or changes 
  2.22  to the relative value units and service codes shall be in lieu 
  2.23  of the requirements of chapter 14.  The commissioner shall 
  2.24  follow the requirements of section 14.386, paragraph (a).  The 
  2.25  annual adjustments to the conversion factors and the medical fee 
  2.26  schedules adopted pursuant to this section, including all 
  2.27  previous fee schedules, are not subject to expiration under 
  2.28  section 14.387.