Appeals court refuses to block regulations limiting choice of doctors

AP ^ | 11/18/4 | STEVE LAWRENCE

[SmithL]

SACRAMENTO -- A state appeals court Thursday refused to block the Schwarzenegger administration from implementing regulations Jan. 1 that would limit injured employees' choice of doctors, saying the challenge by workers' attorneys was premature.

The 3rd District Court of Appeal denied the California Applicants' Attorneys Association's request for an order blocking the new rules because there was "presently no aggrieved party."

David Schwartz, the association's president, said the petition would be refiled with the court after the regulations take effect. "It's only a matter of time before this issue comes before the court," he added.

Sweeping changes in the workers' compensation system that were approved by lawmakers earlier this year included a provision allowing employers to set up networks of doctors to treat workers who suffer job-related injuries.

The legislation, part of an effort to cut costs, gives employers the right to determine which doctors to include in the networks. It also requires employees to see at least three doctors within the network before petitioning to see a physician of their choice.

But the applicant attorneys and two injured workers who joined in the lawsuit said the regulations go beyond the law by making the restrictions retroactive and interrupting existing doctor-patient relationships.

"It's one thing for workers injured next year to be forced to see a company doctor," Schwartz said. "But it's absolutely ridiculous for the state to rip a patient away from his or her doctor in the midst of treatment."

The American Insurance Association, which includes companies that sell workers' comp insurance to employers, criticized the lawsuit, saying it would continue the "costly and abusive practice of 'doctor shopping."'