S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  2438

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 16, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. KIM -- read once and referred to the Committee on
  Labor

AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to the estab-
  lishment  of  a  fee schedule covering the costs of ambulance services
  provided to injured employees

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1. Subdivision (a) of section 13 of the workers' compensation
law, as amended by chapter 6 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read  as
follows:
  (a)  The  employer shall promptly provide for an injured employee such
medical, dental, surgical, optometric or other attendance or  treatment,
AMBULANCE  SERVICES,  nurse  and  hospital service, medicine, optometric
services, crutches, eye-glasses, false teeth, artificial  eyes,  orthot-
ics,  prosthetic  devices, functional assistive and adaptive devices and
apparatus for such period as the nature of the injury or the process  of
recovery  may  require.  The employer shall be liable for the payment of
the expenses of medical, dental, surgical, optometric or  other  attend-
ance or treatment, AMBULANCE SERVICES, nurse and hospital service, medi-
cine,  optometric  services, crutches, eye-glasses, false teeth, artifi-
cial eyes,  orthotics,  prosthetic  devices,  functional  assistive  and
adaptive  devices  and  apparatus,  as well as artificial members of the
body or other devices or appliances necessary in the first  instance  to
replace, support or relieve a portion or part of the body resulting from
and  necessitated  by  the injury of an employee, for such period as the
nature of the injury or the process of recovery  may  require,  and  the
employer  shall also be liable for replacements or repairs of such arti-
ficial members of the body or such  other  devices,  eye-glasses,  false
teeth, artificial eyes, orthotics, prosthetic devices, functional assis-
tive and adaptive devices or appliances necessitated by ordinary wear or
loss  or  damage  to  a prosthesis, with or without bodily injury to the

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD00402-01-5
              

A. 2438                             2

employee. Damage to or loss of a prosthetic device shall  be  deemed  an
injury  except that no disability benefits shall be payable with respect
to such injury under section fifteen of this article. Such a replacement
or  repair of artificial members of the body or such other devices, eye-
glasses, false teeth, artificial eyes,  orthotics,  prosthetic  devices,
functional assistive and adaptive devices or appliances or the providing
of medical treatment and care as defined herein shall not constitute the
payment of compensation under section twenty-five-a of this article. All
fees  and other charges for such treatment and services shall be limited
to such charges as prevail in the same community for  similar  treatment
of injured persons of a like standard of living.
  The  chair  shall  prepare  and establish a schedule for the state, or
schedules limited to defined localities, of charges and  fees  for  such
medical treatment and care, and including all medical, dental, surgical,
optometric or other attendance or treatment, nurse and hospital service,
medicine, optometric services, crutches, eye-glasses, false teeth, arti-
ficial  eyes,  orthotics,  prosthetic  devices, functional assistive and
adaptive devices and apparatus AND AMBULANCE  SERVICES  WHICH  SHALL  BE
APPLICABLE TO FEES FOR ALL SUCH SERVICES EXCEPT AIR TRANSPORTATION BY AN
AIR  CARRIER  TO  THE EXTENT PREEMPTED BY FEDERAL LAW in accordance with
and to be subject to change pursuant to rules promulgated by the  chair.
Before  preparing  such  schedule for the state or schedules for limited
localities the chair shall request the president of the medical  society
of  the state of New York and the president of the New York state osteo-
pathic medical society to submit to him or her a report on the amount of
remuneration deemed by such society to be  fair  and  adequate  for  the
types  of  medical care to be rendered under this chapter, but consider-
ation shall be given to the view of other  interested  parties.  In  the
case  of  physical  therapy  fees  schedules the chair shall request the
president of a recognized professional association representing physical
therapists in the state of New York to submit to him or her a report  on
the  amount  of  remuneration  deemed by such association to be fair and
reasonable for the type of physical therapy services rendered under this
chapter, but consideration shall be given to the views of  other  inter-
ested  parties.    The chair shall also prepare and establish a schedule
for the state, or schedules limited to defined  localities,  of  charges
and  fees for outpatient hospital services not covered under the medical
fee schedule previously referred to in this subdivision,  to  be  deter-
mined  in  accordance with and to be subject to change pursuant to rules
promulgated by the chair. Before preparing such schedule for  the  state
or  schedules  for limited localities the chair shall request the presi-
dent of the hospital association of New York state to submit to  him  or
her a report on the amount of remuneration deemed by such association to
be  fair  and  adequate  for the types of hospital outpatient care to be
rendered under this chapter, but consideration shall  be  given  to  the
views  of  other interested parties. In the case of occupational therapy
fees schedules the chair shall request the  president  of  a  recognized
professional  association  representing  occupational  therapists in the
state of New York to submit to him or her a  report  on  the  amount  of
remuneration  deemed  by  such association to be fair and reasonable for
the type of occupational therapy services rendered under  this  chapter,
but  consideration  shall  be  given  to  the  views of other interested
parties. The amounts payable by the  employer  for  such  treatment  and
services  shall  be  the  fees and charges established by such schedule.
Nothing in this schedule, however, shall prevent  voluntary  payment  of
amounts  higher or lower than the fees and charges fixed therein, but no

A. 2438                             3

physician rendering medical treatment or care, and no physical or  occu-
pational  therapist  rendering their respective physical or occupational
therapy services may receive payment in any higher  amount  unless  such
increased  amount has been authorized by the employer, or by decision as
provided in section thirteen-g of this article. Nothing in this  section
shall  be  construed  as  preventing the employment of a duly authorized
physician on a salary basis by an authorized compensation medical bureau
or laboratory.
  S 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
it shall have become a law.