Posted on 04/18/2004 7:51:45 AM PDT by John Jorsett
A few hours after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders settled last week on a delicately balanced plan to overhaul the state's troubled workers compensation system, the lawyers who represent injured workers attacked the deal as a sellout to employers and insurance companies and an assault on employees hurt on the job.
"INJURED WORKERS CHOICE OF DOCTORS IS ELIMINATED," the lawyers' statement screamed. "The injured worker can choose a doctor only from a 'closed panel' or pool of physicians selected exclusively by employers or insurers. Free choice from a pool of company doctors is no choice!"
But here is what this provision would actually do: It would allow employers to offer workers a network of doctors approved by the state and obligated to follow national standards in diagnosing and treating injured workers. Workers who disagreed with the first doctor's recommendation could get a second and a third opinion. If they were still unhappy, they would be entitled to an independent medical review from a doctor chosen by the state. And if that review vindicated them, they could leave the employer's network to get care elsewhere.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Hey SW... you ain't alone.
NEVER surrender! :-)
I ain't, reely... I'm justa playin possum!!!
Not with Arnold, he won't! He's been one of Arnold's biggest cheer leaders even on the Limbaugh show. He's so vested in Arnold he couldn't even dare to question ANYTHING Arnold supports without losing all credibility and his entire FACE!!!
One would think that the former Mayor of San Diego would hold back some tiny reservation, just in case Arnold had to exercise some wiggle room, but noooooohohoho... Arnold can moon-walk on water!!!
Now I want to hear from all those who blasted Tom as being some totally ridgid, unbending idealista during the Recall as it now looks like he just bent over frontwards!
I understand his finally doing it as everyone has beat the crap out of him that if he says ANYTHING the least bit critical anymore, he'll continue to be "dissed" as a "disruptor!"
My chagrin over the Sierra-Nevada Conservancy legislative proposal encouraged by Arnold will probably get me "dissed" as a "disruptor" on FR, but I can't help it. It's a despicable Socialist concept that swells and compounds unnecessary GovernMental intervention!!!
I only wish Tom still had the courage to speakout against it for whatever good it would do at this point. Somebody influential and conservative sure needs to!!!
Is that not true anymore???
This thread never had that in the title; you must be remembering another thread. I think the billions in savings probably is true, but no one involved is willing to say anything specific about the savings yet. If you believe what people are saying, they've closed down some of the more egregious abuses of the old system. Tom McClintock says that this is probably the best bill possible under the circumstances, and he's on board with it, so I'm optimistic.
You are correct, Sir! My mistake as there was so much similarity in titles. In fact, it was the same article!!! (confusion reigns)(grin)
I know the feeling, particularly when there are so many stories covering the same topic.
Now we're about to descend into the budget fight. That's going to be an interesting one as well. My antennae are picking up an undertone to the coverage that Schwarzenegger is getting: Arnold may win 99% of of the time, but if he loses even one of these "showdowns", there's going to be wall-to-wall coverage about how he's a paper tiger, the terminator gets terminated, yada yada yada. You can just sense how the media is poised to declare him a failure. They probably have his political obituary already written and sitting in their desk drawers.
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