Report Title:

Workers' Compensation

Description:

Establishes a definition for the term "attending physician". Excludes from the definition of "employment" service performed by a member of a limited liability company, a partner of a partnership, a partner of a limited liability partnership, and a sole proprietor. Establishes a definition for the term "maximum medical improvement". Establishes a definition for the term "palliative care".

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

1670

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to workers' compensation.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Section 386-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding three new definitions to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

""Attending physician" means a doctor or physician as defined in chapters 453 and 460, or dentist as defined in chapter 448, who is primarily responsible for the treatment of a work related injury. An employee shall have no more than one attending physician. Treatment by other physicians or health care providers may be allowed and referred by the attending physician if the attending physician determines the employee's injury or illness involves more than one body system and requires multidisciplinary care or is so severe or complex that the services of more than one qualified physician or health care provider are required; provided that:

(1) The attending physician does not have a financial interest in the practice of the qualified physician or health care provider providing services. For the purposes of this paragraph, "financial interest" means an ownership or investment interest through debt, equity, or any other means;

(2) That palliative care or service rendered by chiropractors, naturopaths, optometrists, podiatrists, psychologists, massage therapists, or any health care provider that does not qualify as the attending physician under this chapter, be limited for a period of sixty days from the date of the injured employee's first visit on the initial claim or for fifteen visits, whichever first occurs; and

(3) Concurrent treatment beyond that allowed in paragraph (2) shall be approved by the director in accordance with applicable rules adopted pursuant to chapter 91.

"Maximum medical improvement" means that no further improvement in the injured employee's work-related condition can be expected from treatment or the passage of time. A finding of maximum medical improvement shall not be precluded by a need for medical care that will not significantly improve the condition and may be needed to prevent deterioration of the condition due solely to the passage of time.

"Palliative care" means medical service rendered to reduce or temporarily moderate the intensity of an otherwise stable medical condition, but does not include those medical services rendered to diagnose, heal, permanently alleviate, or eliminate a medical condition."

SECTION 2. Section 386-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "employment" to read as follows:

""Employment" means any service performed by an individual for another person under any contract of hire or apprenticeship, express or implied, oral or written, whether lawfully or unlawfully entered into. It includes service of public officials, whether elected or under any appointment or contract of hire express or implied.

"Employment" does not include the following service:

(1) Service for a religious, charitable, educational, or nonprofit organization if performed in a voluntary or unpaid capacity;

(2) Service for a religious, charitable, educational, or nonprofit organization if performed by a recipient of aid therefrom and the service is incidental to or in return for the aid received;

(3) Service for a school, college, university, college club, fraternity, or sorority if performed by a student who is enrolled and regularly attending classes and in return for board, lodging, or tuition furnished, in whole or in part;

(4) Service performed by a duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister, priest, or rabbi of a church in the exercise of the minister's, priest's, or rabbi's ministry or by a member of a religious order in the exercise of nonsecular duties required by the order;

(5) Service performed by an individual for another person solely for personal, family, or household purposes if the cash remuneration received is less than $225 during the current calendar quarter and during each completed calendar quarter of the preceding twelve-month period;

(6) Domestic, which includes attendant care, and day care services authorized by the department of human services under the Social Security Act, as amended, performed by an individual in the employ of a recipient of social service payments;

(7) Service performed without wages for a corporation without employees by a corporate officer in which the officer is at least a twenty-five per cent stockholder;

(8) Service performed by an individual for a corporation if the individual owns at least fifty per cent of the corporation; provided that no employer shall require an employee to incorporate as a condition of employment; [and]

(9) Service performed by an individual for another person as a real estate salesperson or as a real estate broker, if all the service performed by the individual for the other person is performed for remuneration solely by way of commission[.];

(10) Service performed by a member of a limited liability company if the member is an individual and has a distributional interest, as defined in section 428-101, of at least fifty per cent in the company; provided that no employer shall require an employee to form a limited liability company as a condition of employment;

(11) Service performed by a partner of a partnership, within the meaning of chapter 425, if the partner is an individual; provided that no employer shall require an employee to become a partner as a condition of employment;

(12) Service performed by a partner of a limited liability partnership if the partner is an individual and has a transferable interest, pursuant to section 425-127, in the partnership of at least fifty per cent; provided that no employer shall require an employee to form a limited liability partnership as a condition of employment; and

(13) Service performed by a sole proprietor.

As used in this [paragraph] definition, "religious, charitable, educational, or nonprofit organization" means a corporation, unincorporated association, community chest, fund, or foundation organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, or educational purposes, no part of the net earnings of which inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual."

SECTION 3. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun, before its effective date, and shall apply to injuries compensable under chapter 386, Hawaii Revised Statutes, that occur after the effective date of this Act

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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