1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to insurance; workers' compensation; 
  1.3             eliminating the requirement that an injured employee 
  1.4             submit to examination by the employer's physician; 
  1.5             requiring that benefits not be discontinued except as 
  1.6             determined by a neutral health care professional; 
  1.7             amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 176.135, by 
  1.8             adding a subdivision; 176.155, subdivision 3; 176.238, 
  1.9             subdivisions 1, 2, 5, and 10; and 176.321, subdivision 
  1.10            2; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.11            chapter 176; repealing Minnesota Statutes 1998, 
  1.12            sections 176.136, subdivision 1c; and 176.155, 
  1.13            subdivision 1. 
  1.14  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.15     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 176.135, is 
  1.16  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.17     Subd. 3.  [SECOND MEDICAL EVALUATION.] If an employee 
  1.18  desires a second opinion on the need for treatment, the employer 
  1.19  shall pay the costs of obtaining a second medical opinion from a 
  1.20  health professional from the roster established pursuant to 
  1.21  section 65B.526, subdivision 3.  If the health professional from 
  1.22  the roster provides a medical opinion that treatment desired by 
  1.23  the employee is reasonably required to cure and relieve the 
  1.24  effects of the personal injury or occupational disease, the 
  1.25  employer shall provide the treatment to the employee. 
  1.26     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 176.155, 
  1.27  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  1.28     Subd. 3.  [REFUSAL TO BE EXAMINED.] If the injured employee 
  1.29  refuses to comply with any reasonable request for examination by 
  2.1   a neutral physician under subdivision 2, the right to 
  2.2   compensation may be suspended by order of the commissioner or a 
  2.3   compensation judge, and no compensation shall be paid while the 
  2.4   employee continues in the refusal.  
  2.5      Sec. 3.  [176.237] [SECOND MEDICAL EVALUATION.] 
  2.6      No employer shall terminate permanent total, temporary 
  2.7   total, or temporary partial disability benefits on the basis of 
  2.8   the employer's evaluation of the employee's medical condition 
  2.9   unless the employer first allows the employee the option of 
  2.10  obtaining a second medical evaluation by a health professional 
  2.11  from the roster established pursuant to section 65B.526, 
  2.12  subdivision 3.  The cost of this evaluation must be paid by the 
  2.13  employer at a rate at least equal to the rate the employer has 
  2.14  customarily paid for similar medical evaluations.  The medical 
  2.15  evaluation required in this section must be performed by a 
  2.16  health professional qualified to evaluate the injury that is the 
  2.17  subject of the claim and who has a license and specialty 
  2.18  designation specified by the employer. 
  2.19     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 176.238, 
  2.20  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  2.21     Subdivision 1.  [NECESSITY FOR NOTICE AND SHOWING; 
  2.22  CONTENTS.] Except as provided in section 176.221, subdivision 1, 
  2.23  once the employer has commenced payment of benefits, the 
  2.24  employer may not discontinue payment of compensation until it 
  2.25  provides the employee with notice in writing of intention to do 
  2.26  so and, if the employee requests examination pursuant to section 
  2.27  176.237 by a member of the health professional roster pursuant 
  2.28  to section 176.237, receives a report from the health 
  2.29  professional consistent with the discontinuance of 
  2.30  compensation.  A copy of the notice shall be filed with the 
  2.31  division by the employer.  The notice to the employee and the 
  2.32  copy to the division shall state the date of intended 
  2.33  discontinuance and set forth a statement of facts clearly 
  2.34  indicating the reason for the action.  Copies of whatever 
  2.35  medical reports or other written reports in the employer's 
  2.36  possession which are relied on for the discontinuance shall be 
  3.1   attached to the notice, including any health professional's 
  3.2   report obtained pursuant to section 176.237.  
  3.3      Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 176.238, 
  3.4   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  3.5      Subd. 2.  [CONTINUANCE OF EMPLOYER'S LIABILITY; 
  3.6   SUSPENSION.] (a)  [DISCONTINUANCE BECAUSE OF RETURN TO WORK.] If 
  3.7   the reason for discontinuance is that the employee has returned 
  3.8   to work, temporary total compensation may be discontinued 
  3.9   effective the day the employee returned to work.  Written notice 
  3.10  shall be served on the employee and filed with the division 
  3.11  within 14 days of the date the insurer or self-insured employer 
  3.12  has notice that the employee has returned to work.  
  3.13     (b)  [DISCONTINUANCE FOR REASONS OTHER THAN RETURN TO 
  3.14  WORK.] If the reason for the discontinuance is for other than 
  3.15  that the employee has returned to work, the liability of the 
  3.16  employer to make payments of compensation continues until the 
  3.17  copy of the notice and reports have been filed with the division 
  3.18  and, if the employee requests an evaluation pursuant to section 
  3.19  176.237, the employer has received an evaluation from the health 
  3.20  professional performing that evaluation that is consistent with 
  3.21  discontinuance.  When the division has received a copy of the 
  3.22  notice of discontinuance, the statement of facts and available 
  3.23  medical reports, including the report of a health professional, 
  3.24  if applicable, the duty of the employer to pay compensation is 
  3.25  suspended, except as provided in the following subdivisions and 
  3.26  in section 176.239.  
  3.27     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 176.238, 
  3.28  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  3.29     Subd. 5.  [PETITION TO DISCONTINUE.] Instead of filing a 
  3.30  notice of discontinuance, an employer may serve on the employee 
  3.31  and file with the commissioner a petition to discontinue 
  3.32  compensation.  A petition to discontinue compensation may also 
  3.33  be used when the employer disagrees with the commissioner's 
  3.34  decision under section 176.239.  Within ten calendar days after 
  3.35  receipt of a petition to discontinue, the commissioner shall 
  3.36  refer the matter to the office for a de novo hearing before a 
  4.1   compensation judge to determine the right of the employer to 
  4.2   discontinue compensation.  
  4.3      The petition shall include copies of medical reports or 
  4.4   other written reports or evidence in the possession of the 
  4.5   employer bearing on the physical condition or other present 
  4.6   status of the employee which relate to the proposed 
  4.7   discontinuance.  If the petition is based on the employer's 
  4.8   evaluation of the employee's medical condition, the employer 
  4.9   must comply with the requirements of section 176.237 before 
  4.10  filing a petition.  The employer shall continue payment of 
  4.11  compensation until the filing of the decision of the 
  4.12  compensation judge and thereafter as the compensation judge, 
  4.13  court of appeals, or the supreme court directs, unless, during 
  4.14  the interim, occurrences arise justifying the filing of a notice 
  4.15  under subdivision 1 or 2 and the discontinuance is permitted by 
  4.16  the commissioner's order or no conference under section 176.239 
  4.17  is requested.  
  4.18     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 176.238, 
  4.19  subdivision 10, is amended to read: 
  4.20     Subd. 10.  [FINES; VIOLATION.] An employer who violates 
  4.21  requirements set forth in this section, section 176.237, or 
  4.22  section 176.239 is subject to a fine of up to $1,000 for each 
  4.23  violation payable to the special compensation fund.  
  4.24     Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 176.321, 
  4.25  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  4.26     Subd. 2.  [CONTENTS.] The answer shall admit, deny, or 
  4.27  affirmatively defend against the substantial averments of the 
  4.28  petition, and shall state the contention of the adverse party 
  4.29  with reference to the matter in dispute. 
  4.30     Each fact alleged by the petition or answer and not 
  4.31  specifically denied by the answer or reply is deemed admitted, 
  4.32  but the failure to deny such a fact does not preclude the 
  4.33  compensation judge from requiring proof of the fact. 
  4.34     The answer shall include the names and addresses of all 
  4.35  known witnesses; whether or not the employer intends to schedule 
  4.36  an adverse examination and, if known, the date, time, and place 
  5.1   of all adverse examinations; the desired location for a hearing; 
  5.2   any request for a prehearing or settlement conference; the 
  5.3   estimated time needed to present evidence at a hearing; and, if 
  5.4   an affidavit of significant financial hardship and request for 
  5.5   an expedited hearing are included with the petition, any 
  5.6   objection the employer may have to that request.  If the date, 
  5.7   time, and place of all adverse examinations is unknown at the 
  5.8   time the answer is filed, the employer must notify the 
  5.9   commissioner in writing of the date, time, and place of all 
  5.10  adverse examinations within 50 days of the filing of the claim 
  5.11  petition.  
  5.12     Sec. 9.  [REPEALER.] 
  5.13     Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 176.136, subdivision 1c; 
  5.14  and 176.155, subdivision 1, are repealed. 
  5.15     Sec. 10.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.16     Sections 1 to 9 are effective January 1, 2001.