Recently, Governor Quinn signed into law Public Act 097-0018, causing a major overhaul of the Workers’ Compensation system in the state of Illinois. As an employee, many of these changes will not necessarily change how much money ends up in your pockets, and the process is still largely the same. However, one area where employees will have to be extra vigilent in is in their choice of treatment providers.
Prior to this overhaul, an injured worker could choose up to two completely “fresh” treaters. That is, if you went to one doctor and just flat out didn’t like him, you could go to a completely different doctor without needing a referral. The new law creates a Perferred Provider Program (“PPP”) which will be a list of doctors approved by the Department of Insurance. If your Employer opts into this PPP– and you must be notified in writing that they are opting in–you must then choose a doctor among this list or forfeit one of your choices. In other words, choosing not to use the PPP is considered a choice and you may then only choose one doctor outside the PPP. The referral chain remains alive and well, though, so if the doctor you choose refers you to another treater, your treatment should be covered.
It is important to remember that the employer must opt into the PPP. If they do not, you are under the same system as before. It is also worth noting that despite the fact that this law went into effect on September 01, as of October 7, there are no doctors yet on the PPP.
The bottom line is that injured employees need to be extra careful about how and where they seek treatment. The last thing an injured worker needs is to have thousands of dollars worth of treatment that the workers’ compensation insurance will not cover.
If you have any questions about this topic, or any other Workers’ Compensation issue, please do not hesitate to contact our Workers’ Compensation Team: (815) 338-3838.
Botto Gilbert Schottland Lancaster is a limited general practice law firm located in Woodstock, Illinois. We handle workers’ compensation cases in Lake, McHenry, Boone, Winnebago, Kane and Cook counties including but not limited to Crystal Lake, McHenry, Harvard, Waukegan, Gurnee, Marengo, Belividere, Rockford, Richmond, Spring Grove, Hebron, Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, Elgin, West Dundee, Carpentersville, Woodstock, Round Lake, Batavia, Poplar Grove, Deerfield and Huntley.
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