Enacts the "COVID-19 injured workers' protection act"; establishes a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) presumption for public employee death benefits where a member was required to physically report to work; did in fact physically report to work as of March first, two thousand twenty; contracted COVID-19; and where the applicable head of the member's retirement system or such system's medical board determines COVID-19 to have been a significant contributing factor in the member's death.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A4812
SPONSOR: O'Pharrow TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to the treat-
ment by a medical provider for the novel coronavirus, COVID-19
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To protect New York's.COVID-19 affected injured workers by eliminating
the preauthorization provision to allow medical providers not otherwise
authorized to treat injured workers to render medical care and ensuring
that all injured workers are paid lost wage benefits at the temporary
total level until they are able to return to their place of pre-Covid-19
employment.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Creates a new subdivision 8 of the workers' compensation law
section 13-a to establish a presumption that medical providers treating
COVID-19 patients are doing so on an emergency basis so as not to
require the•-• carrier's prior authorization for treatment, and to
excuse medical providers treating COVID-19 patients from being author-
ized by the chair of the workmen's compensation board of the state of
New York.
Section 2: Amends section 21-a of the workers' compensation law by
reducing the time period in which a carrier can pay a claim without
prejudice from one year to sixty days, providing injured workers with
certainty knowing that they will be better protected in the future.
Section 3: Sets the effective date.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
N/A
JUSTIFICATION:
Workers who contract COVID-19 should have the ability to obtain treat-
ment as expeditiously as possible, without medical providers having to
worry about authorizations under the Workers' Compensation Law or
obtaining prior approval in order to treat these patients. For more than
one hundred years, New York's injured workers have relied on the Work-
ers' Compensation Law for timely medical treatment and lost wage bene-
fits. Those suffering from COVID19 should be treated no differently, and
they certainly should not be forced to wait an entire year for their
claims to be adjudicated. COVID-19 is a disease with devastating uncer-
tainty, but what is certain is that those working on the frontline
during these times of crisis are more likely to contract the disease
than those who remain at home. New York's essential workers are provid-
ing those items necessary to allow the remainder of our population to
survive by providing food, shelter, safety and medical treatment.
As COVID-19 related cases are being filed, precedent exists allowing for
the payment of medical and monetary benefits for these individuals. The
existing law under section 21-a, however, allows carriers and self-in-
sureds to commence payment without accepting or denying the particular
case, giving these parties up to one year to make a decision. In the
meantime, the injured and sick worker is left to wonder whether or not
the medical bills are really going to be paid, whether the money they
receive will have to be paid back, all without the means to effectively
advocate for themselves. Similarly, COVID-19 presents unique medical
issues that are emergent and life-threatening, impacting an
unprecedented amount of workers who require the services of many medical
providers who otherwise do not handle workers' compensation cases. These
noble providers have no time to seek authorization to treat nor should
their patients' treatments be stymied by preauthorization procedures
during these times of crisis.
Our frontline workers and public servants, including the grocery clerks,
delivery people and everyone in between who have continued to dedicate
their time and health to their work throughout these difficult times
deserve to receive immediate medical care and to have their claims time-
ly adjudicated without bureaucratic delays. Likewise, they should have
the peace of mind and certainty knowing that should they become
infected, disabled or even perish from this vicious disease, they or
their family will receive the workers' compensation benefits they
deserve.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
01/23/23 - referred to labor 01/03/24 - referred to labor
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4812
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 6, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. O'PHARROW -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to the treat-
ment by a medical provider for the novel coronavirus, COVID-19
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "COVID-19 injured workers' protection act."
3 § 2. Section 13-a of the workers' compensation law is amended by
4 adding a new subdivision 8 to read as follows:
5 (8) (a) It shall be presumed that treatment rendered by a medical
6 provider for the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 was done so on an emergent
7 basis so as not to require prior authorization pursuant to subdivision
8 five of this section.
9 (b) Medical providers treating patients for the novel coronavirus,
10 COVID-19 need not be authorized by the chair pursuant to subdivision one
11 of this section.
12 § 3. Section 21-a of the workers' compensation law, as added by chap-
13 ter 635 of the laws of 1996, subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 as amended by chap-
14 ter 6 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
15 § 21-a. Temporary payment of compensation. 1. Notwithstanding any
16 other provision of this chapter to the contrary, in any instance in
17 which an employer is unsure of the extent of its liability for a claim
18 for compensation by an injured employee pursuant to this chapter, such
19 employer may initiate compensation payments and payments for prescribed
20 medicine and continue such payments for [one year] sixty days, without
21 prejudice and without admitting liability, in accordance with a notice
22 of temporary payment of compensation at the temporary total disability
23 rate, on a form prescribed by the board.
24 2. The notice of temporary payment of compensation authorized by
25 subdivision one of this section shall be delivered to the injured
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08807-01-5
A. 4812 2
1 employee and the board. Such notice shall notify the injured employee
2 that the temporary payment of compensation and prescribed medicine shall
3 not be deemed to be an admission of liability by the employer for the
4 injury or injuries to the employee. The board, upon receipt of a notice
5 of temporary payment of compensation, shall send a notice to the injured
6 employee in sixteen point type stating that:
7 (a) the board has received a notice of temporary payment of compen-
8 sation relating to such injured employee;
9 (b) the payment of temporary compensation and prescribed medicine and
10 the injured employee's acceptance of such temporary compensation and
11 prescribed medicine shall not be an admission of liability by the
12 employer, nor prejudice the claim of the injured employee; and
13 (c) the payment of temporary compensation and prescribed medicine
14 shall terminate on the elapse of: [one year] sixty days, or the employ-
15 er's contesting of the injured employee's claim for compensation and
16 prescribed medicine, or the board determination of the injured employ-
17 ee's claim, whichever is first[; and
18 (d) the injured employee may be required to enter into an agreement
19 with the employer to ensure the continuation of payments of temporary
20 compensation and prescribed medicine].
21 3. An employer may cease making temporary payments of compensation and
22 prescribed medicine if such employer delivers within five days after the
23 last payment, to the injured employee and the board, a notice of termi-
24 nation of temporary payments of compensation on a form prescribed by the
25 board. Such notice shall inform the injured employee that the employer
26 is ceasing temporary payment of compensation and prescribed medicine.
27 Upon the cessation of temporary payments of compensation and prescribed
28 medicine, [all] the board shall immediately schedule a hearing to adju-
29 dicate the claim. All parties to any action pursuant to this chapter
30 shall retain all rights, defenses and obligations they would otherwise
31 have pursuant to this chapter without regard for the temporary payment
32 of compensation and prescribed medicine.
33 4. The failure of an employer to provide the notice of termination,
34 pursuant to subdivision three of this section, within [one year] sixty
35 days of the commencement of temporary payment of compensation shall be
36 deemed to be an admission of liability by the employer and the notice of
37 temporary payment of compensation shall be converted to a notice of
38 compensation payable.
39 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
