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S1093.......................................by COMMERCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES WORKER'S COMPENSATION - Amends existing law relating to worker's compensation benefits to provide that evaluations of permanent impairment shall only be made by a qualified physician. 02/04 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing 02/07 Rpt prt - to Com/HuRes
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]] Fifty-eighth Legislature First Regular Session - 2005IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1093 BY COMMERCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO WORKER'S COMPENSATION BENEFITS; AMENDING SECTION 72-424, IDAHO 3 CODE, TO PROVIDE THAT EVALUATIONS OF PERMANENT IMPAIRMENT SHALL ONLY BE 4 MADE BY A QUALIFIED PHYSICIAN. 5 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 6 SECTION 1. That Section 72-424, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 7 amended to read as follows: 8 72-424. PERMANENT IMPAIRMENT EVALUATION. "Evaluation (rating) of perma- 9 nent impairment" is a medical appraisal, made only by a qualified physician, 10 of the nature and extent of the injury or disease as it affects an injured 11 employee's personal efficiency in the activities of daily living, such as 12 self-care, communication, normal living postures, ambulation, elevation, 13 traveling, and nonspecialized activities of bodily members.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE RS 14496 This measure clarifies that evaluations of permanent physical impairment are to be prepared only by competent individuals, namely qualified physicians. It reinforces the legislature's intention that impairment evaluations are to be medical evaluations. Due to the wide variety of industrial injuries and occupational exposures that Idaho's workers face, the growing complexity of the medical factors that must be considered, and the increasing specialization of the medical field, the law should assure that evaluations or "ratings" of permanent physical impairment are performed only by individuals with appropriate medical training, background and expertise. Nothing in this provision is intended to preclude or limit the Industrial Commission, as the trier of fact, from averaging, apportioning, or otherwise weighing impairment ratings prepared by qualified physicians. "Physician" is already defined in Idaho Code Section 72-102(24). The term "qualified physician" also appears in Idaho Code Sections 72-102(18) and 72-433(1). FISCAL NOTE NONE Contact Name: Senator John Goedde Phone: 332-1331 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE S 1093