LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS:

• House Bill 3406
  Regarding the Maintenance tax imposed by the Workers’ Compensation Commission this act takes effect July 1, 2017, and must be terminated five years after the effective date of the act unless otherwise authorized by the General Assembly. Beginning on July 1, 2014, and on each July first thereafter, the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission must report to the Chairman of House Ways and Means Committee, the Chairman of Senate Finance Committee, and the Governor the amount of money the agency has received in the previous fiscal year pursuant to this act."  Effective Date June 29, 2017.

• House Bill 3441
  An act to amend the code of laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding section 42-9-450 so as to provide workers' compensation payments by employers' representatives must be made by checks or electronic payment systems. Effective Date May 9, 2017.

• House Bill 3879
  The enacted legislation amends section 42-9-290, code of laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to the maximum amount of burial expenses payable under workers' compensation laws for accidental death. It increases the maximum payable amount to seventy-five hundred dollars.  Effective Date May 10, 2017.

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• At a Special Business Meeting on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission approved a motion to voluntarily withdraw the proposed changes to Chapter 67 Regulations in Document No. 4735 and resubmit Document 4735 with the non-substantive changes recommended by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee. On Wednesday, April 26, 2017 the Commission submitted a formal request to Legislative Council to resubmit Document 4735 including the non-substantive changes recommended by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee for legislative review.   Below is a summary of the changes:   67-214.  Subpoenas, G.:  Add the following phrase for clarity: “or to a party’s right to compensation from a third party.”   67-215.  Motions, B. (2).:    Grammatical changes from the word “will” to “may” and from “has already filed” to “already has filed.”  67-215. Motions, H.:  Grammatical changes deleting the word “has” in two places, and changing “(i)” to “(1)” and “(ii)” to “(2).”  67-611.  Pre-hearing Brief.  In (B)(1) specified 15 days as the number of days the moving party must provide the Form 58 and proof of service to the opposing party before the scheduled hearing and specified 10 days as the number of days a nonmoving party must provide a response before a scheduled hearing.  Added subsection (5) -  The parties may extend the Form 58 filing deadlines required in (B)(1) and (2) by consent agreement in writing.    67-613. Postponement or Adjournment of the Scheduled Hearing.: Add subsection (4) – “A new hearing date shall be scheduled by the Commissioner assigned the case at the discretion of the Commissioner.”  67-1802. Mediation Required with Certain Claims, A. (1):  Delete the phrase “but only after the employee has reached maximum medical improvement per the opinion of a physician or psychologist:”
• As noticed on December 13, 2016, effective March 1, 2017, the Commission began requiring the use of the newly revised Form 14B dated 12/2016. Any other version of the Form 14B submitted will result in the associated pleading being returned to the filing party. The only exception is if the previous Form 14B (dated 9/13) was completed by the physician before January 1, 2017.   Please use the most recent forms available on the Commission’s website.    For additional information, please contact:  Amy Bracy Judicial Director Judicial@wcc.sc.gov 803.737.567.

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• “Over the past few years the Commission has experienced an increased number of Consent Orders submitted as an alternative to Settlement Agreements and Release. The documents contain language creating a “hybrid” between an Agreement and Release and a Consent Order, making it difficult to discern how it should be processed.  Consent Orders, pursuant to S.C.  Code Ann.  42-17-10 are signed and served by each Commissioner’s office.   Agreement and Releases, pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. § 42-9-390, are stamped received by Claims and returned to the parties once they are properly filed.  To eliminate any confusion for processing these documents, we request your assistance. When preparing a Consent Order, please title the document “Consent Order” and include the language “we consent” at the signature lines for the parties and a signature line for the Commissioner at the bottom of the document. When preparing a settlement or “clincher” agreement, title the document “Settlement Agreement and Release.” The title should not contain the word “Order.”  A signature line for a Commissioner is required only if the claimant is unrepresented.  We appreciate your cooperation by immediately submitting Consent Orders and Settlement Agreements and Releases following the format provided in the attached examples. Effective March 1, 2017, all Consent Orders and Settlement Agreements received by the Commission which are not in the attached format will be returned to the appropriate parties.   Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Please direct any questions or comments to:  Amy Bracy Judicial Director abracy@wcc.sc.gov.”

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• Regulation 67-1601 A (1) provides the expenses incurred for travel to receive medical attention which shall be reimbursed to the claimant are mileage to and from a place of medical attention which is more than five miles away from home in accordance with the amount allowed state employees for mileage. The  state  employee  mileage  rate is  based  upon the  standard  business  mileage  rate established  by  the  Internal  Revenue    Effective  January  1,  2017  the reimbursement  rate  for  state  employee  mileage  is  53.5  cents  per  mile.  This represents a half a cent per mile decrease from the 2016 rate of 54 cents per mile. Therefore,  effective  January  1,  2017,  the  new  mileage  reimbursement  rate  to  and from a place of medical attention is 53.5 cents per mile.
• Pursuant to R67-1605 the Net Present Value (NPV) tables are calculated at the yield-to-maturity rate of the 5-year U.S. Treasury Note reported by the Federal Reserve on the first business day following January. The tables can be located at: http://www.wcc.sc.gov/welcomeandoverview/NPVT/Pages/default.aspx.
• The Commission  has  conducted  a  public  hearing  on  January  5,  2017,  at  10:30  m.  in  Hearing  room  A  at  the  Commission  to  receive  comments  on  the  proposed  changes  to  Chapter  67.  The full text of the proposed regulations is available on the South Carolina General Assembly Home Page:  http://www.scstatehouse.gov/regnsrch.php (enter 4735 as the document number).

FEE SCHEDULE NEWS:

• The state has adopted a new Medical Services Provider Manual based on current CPT codes and the 2016 CMS Relative Value Units (RVU) with an effective date of September 1, 2016.  A new physician fee schedule is set to become effective September 1, 2017.
• For Hospital and ASC schedules, the state adopts the Medicare Prospective Payment Systems with a 140% markup.

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• The Commission will conduct a public hearing on January 5, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. in Hearing Room A at the Commission to receive comments on the proposed changes to Chapter 67. The full text of the proposed regulations is available on the South Carolina General Assembly home page http://www.scstatehouse.gov/regnsrch.php (enter 4735 as the document number).  Written comments on the proposed regulation may be submitted to Gary M. Cannon Executive Director, South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission, Post Office Box 1715, Columbia, South Carolina 29202-1715.  Comments must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on December 26, 2016.
• On December 1, 2016, South Carolina published an advisory notice regarding submission of Dependency Investigations. Regulation 67-902(B) governs the discovery of beneficiaries when a fatality has occurred as a result of a work-related injury.  It requires the employer’s representative to attach to the Form 12A a list of the names, addresses, and ages of all known beneficiaries.  The list must be submitted with the dependency investigation filed with the Commission.
• In September of this year, the Commission revised the language on the Form 14B for clarifying information on whether or not future medical care and treatment will be required (R67-802 and R67-803).  The change prompted several stakeholders to express concerns about about the form’s revised language. Chairman Beck convened an ad hoc advisory group of stakeholder representatives to discuss the concerns and recommend any changes to the Commission to address the expressed concerns.  The group met over several weeks and presented their recommendations to the Commission. The commission reviewed the recommendations and supporting information and approved the language on Form 14B.  The Commission prefers that the parties begin using the revised Form 14B immediately however, the Commission will continue to accept the previous Form 14B (dated 9/13) so long as it is completed by the physician before January 1, 2017. Beginning on March 1, 2017, the Commission will require the use of the newly revised Form 14B (dated 12/2016).

• At the Business Meeting on December 12, 2016, the Commission approved the maximum weekly compensation rate at $806.92 for injuries arising on and after January 1, 2017. The South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce certified the average weekly wage July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016.   As provided in Title 42 of the SC Code of Laws, 1976 the maximum weekly compensation rate equals 66⅔% of an individual’s average weekly wage, not to exceed the average weekly wage in this State for the preceding fiscal year as determined by the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce.

LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS:

• Senate Bill 975
  The enacted legislation amends subsection (b) of section 42-3-20 of the South Carolina code of laws, 1976, so as to provide that the governor may reappoint a person as chairman of the workers’ compensation commission, and to further provide that the commission is not required to elect a chairman from among its members in the event the governor does not appoint or reappoint a chairman. Effective Date:  March 14, 2016.