REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• Published the agenda for the May 21, 2018 meeting of the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission.  To view a copy of the agenda, go to http://www.wcc.sc.gov/Pages/default.aspx.

LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS:

House Bill 5153

• The enacted legislation amends section 42-17-20, code of laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to certain workers' compensation commission hearings concerning compensation payable. The hearing shall be held in the district in which the injury occurred, but no greater than seventy-five miles from the county seat of the county in which the injury occurred, unless otherwise agreed to by the parties and authorized by the commission. For purposes of this section, the 'county seat' is the county courthouse. These districts are defined as those districts designated by the commission and in effect as of January 1, 2018.   Effective Date May 18, 2018.

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• Posted the Agenda of the April 16 business meeting along with materials to be presented to the Commissioners at the business meeting.  To view the agenda, go to http://www.wcc.sc.gov/Pages/default.aspx.
• Posted notice that the report of the April 16 business meeting is now available.  To view the report, go to http://www.wcc.sc.gov/Pages/default.aspx.

FEE SCHEDULE NEWS:

• The Division of Workers’ Compensation has adopted a new medical fee schedule effective April 1, 2018.

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• Posted on its web site a copy of the State Auditor's Report of the Workers' Compensation Commission.  To view the report, click HERE
• At the Business Meeting on March 19, 2018, the Commission approved changes to the Medical Services Provider Manual (MSPM). The changes included approving a Conversion Factor of $50 and adopting the 2018 CMS CPT/HCPCS codes. In August 2017 the Commission approved the annual update the MSPM approving a Conversion Factor of $50 and the use of the CMS 2017 CPT/HICPCS codes. At that time, the stakeholders recommended the MSPM be updated to utilize the most recent Relative Values established by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Studies (CMS). The Commission directed the consultants to calculate several Conversion Factors and their respective financial impact on the system using the 2018 Relative Values; claims medical data in terms of frequency and amount paid to the provider reported to NCCI for the calendar year 2016, and the 10% limit imposed by Act 183 in 2012.  The effective date of the updated MSPM is April 1, 2018. To view additional information regarding the manual, go to http://www.wcc.sc.gov/insurance/Pages/MedicalServicesDivision.aspx.
• Published a summary of the Commission's business meeting on March 19, 2018.  To view the summary, go to http://www.wcc.sc.gov/Pages/default.aspx.

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• Posted the report for the Commission's February 20, 2018 business meeting.  To view the report, go to http://www.wcc.sc.gov/Documents/Kim%20Falls/2.20.2018%20WCC%20Bus%20Mtg%20Report.2.pdf.

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• Pursuant to Reg. 67-1605(E)(5) the Net Present Value (NPV) Tables for 101 through 500 weeks are calculated at the yield-to-maturity rate of the Five-Year U. S. Treasury Note reported by the Federal Reserve on the first business day following January 1. The regulation further states the discount rate shall not exceed six percent or be less than two percent.  The Five-Year Treasury published by the Federal Reserve on January 2nd, 2018 was 2.25%. Therefore, the Net Present Value Table for weeks one through 100 shall be calculated using a discount rate of two percent (2%).  The Net Present Value Table for weeks 101 through 500 shall be calculated using a discount rate of two and one-fourth (2.25%) percent.  The present value of the commutable weeks shall be determined based on the present value tables in effect on the date of the award or settlement. This notice may be viewed HERE
• Issued notice of mandatory workers' compensation LCM Filings and Second Injury Fund Assessments. The notice was filed on January 30, 2018. To view the notice, go to https://doi.sc.gov/DocumentCenter/View/10632

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• Posted notice of minor revisions to Form 16A and Form 59.  The Commission has modified the Form 16A for formatting purposes only; no content changes were made. Also, the Form 59 has been updated to remove text in the footnote section regarding when the brief is due, that no longer applies to the process.    Please use the most recent forms available on the Commission’s website.

FEE SCHEDULE NEWS:

• The state has adopted a new Medical Services Provider Manual based on current CPT codes and the 2017 CMS Relative Value Units (RVU) with an effective date of September 1, 2017.  A new physician fee schedule is set to become effective September 1, 2018.

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• At the Business Meeting on August 21, 2017, the Commission approved revisions to the Medical Services Provider Manual (MSPM) to reflect 2017 Resource Based Relative Values (RBRVS) issued by the Center for Medicare/Medicaid (CMS) and the American Medical Association’s Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Codes. The Conversion Factor will remain at $50. The effective date is September 1, 2017.

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• Posted the agenda for the Commission's business meeting scheduled for July 17, 2017. The following is a summary of the items discussed and actions taken at the SC Workers’ Compensation Commission’s Business Meeting on July 17, 2017.
  • The Commission approved applications to self-insure 16 prospective members of one (1) fund, and one application to self-insure for workers’ compensation.
  • Gary Cannon, Executive Director, briefed the Commission on Optum’s draft of the proposed fees for the 2017 Medical Services Provider Manual. The Commission accepted the proposed MSPM as information and will consider final approval at the business meeting on August 21.  The Effective date of the new fee schedule is September 1, 2017. For additional information, visit the Commission’s website, wcc.sc.gov.
  • The Commission approved an amendment, effective August 1, 2017, to the Administrative Policy for the Use of Court Reporter Services to pay a court reporter that travels more than 200 miles roundtrip in one day be paid a minimum of $155 appearance fee for the day.
  • The Department Directors and Executive Director reviewed their monthly reports submitted to the Commission prior to the meeting.

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• On May 9th, 2017, Governor Henry McMaster signed House Bill H.3441 which amends Title 42 by adding § 42-9-450.  This new statute allows payment of compensation to be made by check or electronic payment systems, but requires the payments to be made “in accordance with the policies, procedures, or regulations as provided by the commission”. S.C. Code Ann. § 42-9-450.  The Commission has proposed changes to Regulation 67-1602 which will provide the framework for how parties can go about using electronic payment systems. However, the proposed changes to the regulations did not become law this year, and will be before the General Assembly in January 2018.  At the June 19^th 2017 Commission Business Meeting, the Commissioners issued an Administrative Order adopting policies and procedures regarding the payment of compensation pursuant to § 42-9-450 of the S.C. Code of Laws.