HOUSE AMENDMENT Bill No. HB 25A
1	CHAMBER ACTION
2	Senate House
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12	Representative Seiler offered the following:
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14	Amendment (with directory and title amendments)
15	Remove line(s) 4767-4824, and insert:
16	440.491 Reemployment of injured workers; rehabilitation.--
17	(6) TRAINING AND EDUCATION.--
18	(a) Upon referral of an injured employee by the carrier,
19	or upon the request of an injured employee, the department shall
20	conduct a training and education screening to determine whether
21	it should refer the employee for a vocational evaluation and, if
22	appropriate, approve training and education or other vocational
23	services for the employee. The department may not approve formal
24	training and education programs unless it determines, after
25	consideration of the reemployment assessment, pertinent
26	reemployment status reviews or reports, and such other relevant
27	factors as it prescribes by rule, that the reemployment plan is
28	likely to result in return to suitable gainful employment. The
29	department is authorized to expend moneys from the Workers'
30	Compensation Administration Trust Fund, established by s.
31	440.50, to secure appropriate training and education at a
32	community college established under part III of chapter 240 or
33	at a vocational-technical school established under s. 230.63, or
34	to secureother vocational services when necessary to satisfy
35	the recommendation of a vocational evaluator. "Appropriate
36	training and education" shall include securing a general
37	education diploma (GED), if necessary.The department shall
38	establish training and education standards pertaining to
39	employee eligibility, course curricula and duration, and
40	associated costs.
41	(b) When it appears thatan employee who has attained
42	maximum medical improvement is unable to earn at least 80
43	percent of the compensation rate andrequires training and
44	education to obtain suitable gainful employment, as promulgated
45	by department rule, the employer or carriershall pay the
46	employee additional training and educationtemporary total
47	compensation benefitswhile the employee receives such training
48	and education for a period not to exceed 104 weeks. The benefits
49	provided in this section shall be in addition to the 104 weeks
50	as specified in s. 440.15(2). Eligibility for benefits provided
51	in this section shall terminate on the expiration of 260 weeks
52	after the date of injury26 weeks, which period may be extended
53	for an additional 26 weeks or less, if such extended period is
54	determined to be necessary and proper by a judge of compensation
55	claims. However, a carrier or employer is not precluded from
56	voluntarily paying additional temporary total disability
57	compensation beyond that period. If an employee requires
58	temporary residence at or near a facility or an institution
59	providing training and education which is located more than 50
60	miles away from the employee's customary residence, the
61	reasonable cost of board, lodging, or travel must be borne by
62	the department from the Workers' Compensation Administration
63	Trust Fund established by s. 440.50. An employee who refuses to
64	accept training and education that is recommended by the
65	vocational evaluator and considered necessary by the department
66	will forfeit any additional training and education benefits and
67	any additional payment for lost wages under this chapter. The
68	department shall promulgate rules to implement this section,
69	which shall include requirements placed upon the carrier to
70	notify the injured employee of the availability of training and
71	education benefits as specified in this chapter. The department
72	shall also include information regarding the eligibility for
73	training and education benefits in informational materials
74	specified in ss. 440.207 and 440.40is subject to a 50-percent
75	reduction in weekly compensation benefits, including wage-loss
76	benefits, as determined under s. 440.15(3)(b).
77	(7) PROVIDER QUALIFICATIONS.--
78	(a) The department shall investigate and maintain a
79	directory of each qualified public and private rehabilitation
80	provider, facility, and agency, and shall establish by rule the
81	minimum qualifications, credentials, and requirements that each
82	rehabilitation service provider, facility, and agency must
83	satisfy to be eligible for listing in the directory. These
84	minimum qualifications and credentials must be based on those
85	generally accepted within the service specialty for which the
86	provider, facility, or agency is approved.
87	(b) The department shall impose a biennial application fee
88	of $25 for each listing in the directory, and all such fees must
89	be deposited in the Workers' Compensation Administration Trust
90	Fund.
91	(c) The department shall monitor and evaluate each
92	rehabilitation service provider, facility, and agency qualified
93	under this subsection to ensure its compliance with the minimum
94	qualifications and credentials established by the department.
95	The failure of a qualified rehabilitation service provider,
96	facility, or agency to provide the department with information
97	requested or access necessary for the department to satisfy its
98	responsibilities under this subsection is grounds for
99	disqualifying the provider, facility, or agency from further
100	referrals.
101	(d) A qualified rehabilitation service provider, facility,
102	or agency may not be authorized by an employer, a carrier, or
103	the department to provide any services, including expert
104	testimony, under this section in this state unless the provider,
105	facility, or agency is listed or has been approved for listing
106	in the directory. This restriction does not apply to services
107	provided outside this state under this section.
108	(e) The department, after consultation with
109	representatives of employees, employers, carriers,
110	rehabilitation providers, and qualified training and education
111	providers, shall, no later than 6 months after the effective
112	date of this act,adopt rules governing professional practices
113	and standards.
114	(f) No later than October 1, 2004, and on a biannual basis
115	thereafter, the department shall publish a comprehensive outcome
116	report on the effectiveness and efficacy of reemployment of
117	injured employees. The report shall include a detailed analysis
118	of data on those cases receiving permanent total disability
119	benefits in relationship to those receiving benefits under s.
120	440.491. Copies of this report shall be provided to the
121	Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House
122	of Representatives, the Democratic and Republican Leaders of the
123	Senate and the House of Representatives and the chairs of the
124	legislative committees having jurisdiction over workers'
125	compensation.
126	(8) CARRIER PRACTICES.--The department shall promulgate
127	rules to audit and enforce the carriers' responsibilities under
128	this section and shall monitor the selection of rehabilitation
129	providers and the provision of reemploymentservices by carriers
130	under this section for consistency with legislative intent set
131	forth in subsection (2).
132	(9) The department shall have exclusive jurisdiction over
133	any dispute involving a claim made against it or the Workers'
134	Compensation Administration Trust Fund for reemployment
135	services, vocational evaluations, training and education, and
136	rehabilitation.
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138	=========== D I R E C T O R Y A M E N D M E N T ==========
139	Remove line(s) 4765 & 4766, and insert:
140	Section 31. Subsections (6), (7), and (8) of section
141	440.491, Florida Statutes, are amended, subsection (9) is
142	renumbered as subsection (10), and a new subsection (9) is added
143	to said section, to read:
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146	================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T =============
147	Between line(s) 83 & 84, insert:
148	requiring a biannual report; providing that the Department of
149	Insurance has jurisdiction over certain disputes;