1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to workers' compensation; providing uniform 
  1.3             fees for certain medical services; amending Minnesota 
  1.4             Statutes 2000, section 176.136, subdivision 1a. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 176.136, 
  1.7   subdivision 1a, is amended to read: 
  1.8      Subd. 1a.  [RELATIVE VALUE FEE SCHEDULE.] The liability of 
  1.9   an employer for services included in the medical fee schedule is 
  1.10  limited to the maximum fee allowed by the schedule in effect on 
  1.11  the date of the medical service, or the provider's actual fee, 
  1.12  whichever is lower.  The medical fee schedule effective on 
  1.13  October 1, 1991, remains in effect until the commissioner adopts 
  1.14  a new schedule by permanent rule.  The commissioner shall adopt 
  1.15  permanent rules regulating fees allowable for medical, 
  1.16  chiropractic, podiatric, surgical, and other health care 
  1.17  provider treatment or service, including those provided to 
  1.18  hospital outpatients, by implementing a relative value fee 
  1.19  schedule to be effective on October 1, 1993.  The commissioner 
  1.20  may adopt by reference the relative value fee schedule adopted 
  1.21  for the federal Medicare program or a relative value fee 
  1.22  schedule adopted by other federal or state agencies.  The 
  1.23  relative value fee schedule must contain reasonable 
  1.24  classifications including, but not limited to, classifications 
  1.25  that differentiate among health care provider disciplines.  The 
  2.1   conversion factors for the original relative value fee schedule 
  2.2   must reasonably reflect a 15 percent overall reduction from the 
  2.3   medical fee schedule most recently in effect.  The reduction 
  2.4   need not be applied equally to all treatment or services, but 
  2.5   must represent a gross 15 percent reduction. 
  2.6      After permanent rules have been adopted to implement this 
  2.7   section, the conversion factors must be adjusted annually on 
  2.8   October 1 by no more than the percentage change computed under 
  2.9   section 176.645, but without the annual cap provided by that 
  2.10  section.  The commissioner shall annually give notice in the 
  2.11  State Register of the adjusted conversion factors and may also 
  2.12  give annual notice of any additions, deletions, or changes to 
  2.13  the relative value units or service codes adopted by the federal 
  2.14  Medicare program.  The relative value units may be statistically 
  2.15  adjusted in the same manner as for the original workers' 
  2.16  compensation relative value fee schedule.  The notices of the 
  2.17  adjusted conversion factors and additions, deletions, or changes 
  2.18  to the relative value units and service codes is in lieu of the 
  2.19  requirements of chapter 14.  The commissioner shall follow the 
  2.20  requirements of section 14.386, paragraph (a).  The annual 
  2.21  adjustments to the conversion factors and the medical fee 
  2.22  schedules adopted under this section, including all previous fee 
  2.23  schedules, are not subject to expiration under section 14.386, 
  2.24  paragraph (b). 
  2.25     Fees established pursuant to this section for services that 
  2.26  are identified by the same current procedural terminology (CPT) 
  2.27  code of the American Medical Association, or by the same 
  2.28  descriptor, must be the same regardless of the discipline of the 
  2.29  health care provider performing the service.