Proposed Rules Postings
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Deadline For Public Comment
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Deadline: Jul 14, 2016 The deadline for public comment has expired. Contact the agency or primary contact person listed below for assistance. |
Rule Details
| Rule Number: | 16P016 |
| Title: | Vermont Workers' Compensation and Occupational Disease Rules 11.1400 and 12.1730. |
| Type: | Standard |
| Status: | Adopted |
| Agency: | Department of Labor |
| Legal Authority: | 21 V.S.A. § 640c |
| Summary: | Rules 11.1400 and 12.1730 establish a rebuttable presumption allowing a workers' compensation insurance carrier to deny or discontinue payment for opioid medications prescribed to treat an injured worker's chronic pain if the prescribing provider has failed to comply with the best practices for doing so as described in the Vermont Department of Health Rule Governing the Prescribing of Opioids for Chronic Pain. In such cases, the injured worker shall have the burden of proving that the prescribed medications constitute reasonable medical treatment notwithstanding the prescribing provider's failure to comply. |
| Persons Affected: | Injured workers, employers, workers' compensation insurance carriers and adjusters, attorneys, vocational rehabilitation counselors and health care providers (including independent medical examiners). Other affected groups may include the Vermont Association for Justice, Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce, AFL-CIO, Vermont State Employees Association, Vermont Chamber of Commerce, Vermont-National Education Association, State of Vermont Risk Management Division, American Insurance Association, Associated Industries of Vermont and Associated General Contractors of Vermont, as well as the attorneys, insurance adjusters, medical providers and vocational rehabilitation counselors on the Department's workers' compensation list serve and other workers' compensation insurance and health care provider interest groups. |
| Economic Impact: | According to the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), controlled substances represent 2.9 percent of workers' compensation medical costs in Vermont, and 1.5 percent of overall benefit costs. By reducing the number of workers' compensation claims in which opiates are inappropriately prescribed, the proposed rules likely will generate both medical and indemnity cost savings. Initially, these may be partially offset by additional litigation costs associated with challenges to treatment providers' prescribing activities. As more providers adopt the best practices upon which the rules are based litigation costs should decrease, with a corresponding increase in system cost savings. |
| Posting date: | May 25,2016 |
Hearing Information
| Information for Hearing # 1 | |
| Hearing date: | |
| Location: | Vermont Department of Labor, Resource Center |
| Address: | 63 Pearl Street |
| City: | Burlington |
| State: | VT |
| Zip: | 05401 |
| Hearing Notes: | |
| Information for Hearing # 2 | |
| Hearing date: | |
| Location: | Vermont Department of Labor |
| Address: | 5 Green Mountain Drive, PO Box 488 |
| City: | Montpelier |
| State: | VT |
| Zip: | 05602 |
| Hearing Notes: | |
| Information for Hearing # 3 | |
| Hearing date: | |
| Location: | Vermont Department of Labor Resource Center |
| Address: | 200 Asa Bloomer Building, 88 Merchants Row |
| City: | Rutland |
| State: | VT |
| Zip: | 05701 |
| Hearing Notes: |
Contact Information
| Information for Contact # 1 | |||
| Level: | Primary | ||
| Name: | VIT Montpelier Site: Vermont Department of Labor | ||
| Agency: | Department of Labor | ||
| Address: | 5 Green Mountain Drive, PO Box 488 | ||
| City: | Middlebury | ||
| State: | VT | ||
| Zip: | 05601-0488 | ||
| Telephone: | 802-828-4043 | ||
| Fax: | 802-828-2195 | ||
Email: |
phyllis.phillips@vermont.gov |
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| Website Address: | http://labor.vermont.gov/legal-information/proposed-rules/  |
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| Information for Contact # 2 | |||
| Level: | Secondary | ||
| Name: | J. Stephen Monahan, Esq. | ||
| Agency: | Department of Labor | ||
| Address: | 5 Green Mountain Drive, PO Box 488 | ||
| City: | Montpelier | ||
| State: | VT | ||
| Zip: | 05601-0488 | ||
| Telephone: | 802-828-2138 | ||
| Fax: | 802-828-2195 | ||
Email: |
stephen.monahan@vermont.gov |
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Keyword Information
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