Statewide records show that the California Division of Workers’ Compensation (CA DWC) routinely and brazenly violates a critical law legislators put in place to protect providers who treat injured workers.  

California Labor Code Section 4603.6 demands that the CA DWC assign a provider’s Independent Bill Review (IBR) request to the independent reviewer, Maximus, within 30 days of receiving the request.

Yet, IBR records demonstrate that the agency has consistently blown past the assignment deadline year after year, with the percentage of late assignments escalating exponentially.

From our analysis of  16,125 IBR disputes providers submitted from 2018 through 2025, daisyNews can demonstrate indisputably that the CA DWC violates its statutory obligation to providers the majority of the time, leaving many unpaid or underpaid for months.

The IBR data proves, once again, that the CA DWC simply ignores vital laws California legislators passed to protect providers who treat the state’s injured workers.

Providers: Pay $195 and Play by the Rules (Or Else)

California law requires a provider to pay $195 and file an IBR request within 30 days of receiving an Explanation of Review in response to their Second Review appeal to dispute and incorrect payment.

If the provider fails to meet this IBR deadline, they forfeit every cent owed.

The law is equally clear for the CA DWC: Within 30 days of receiving a provider’s IBR request and the $195 fee, the agency must assign the dispute to Maximus, the independent reviewer contracted by the state. Labor Code §  4603.6 spells it out (emphasis ours):

“Upon receipt of a request for independent bill review and the required fee, the administrative director [of the CA DWC] or the administrative director’s designee shall assign the request to an independent bill reviewer within 30 days and notify the medical provider and employer of the independent reviewer assigned.”

Maximus has 60 days from the date of assignment to render its decision. That means a provider who pays the IBR fee and files on time should—by law—receive a resolution no more than 90 days from when CA DWC receives the IBR request.

The Data Don’t Lie

Our analysis of 16,125 IBR disputes statewide shows that since 2018, the CA DWC has violated its own statutory deadline the majority of the time.

Out of 16,125 disputes, the CA DWC took more than 30 days to assign 10,315 to Maximus. Even worse, the late assignment rate skyrocketed from 31% in 2018 to a jaw-dropping 87% so far in 2025.

Remember, requesting IBR a single day late means automatic reimbursement forfeiture for a provider. For the CA DWC, months of delay carry no consequences.

Maximus: Doing Its Job While the CA DWC Doesn’t

In better news, our analysis shows that Maximus met its 60-day deadline for Final Determinations 100% of the time statistically across the state.

Even better, 90% of the time, Maximus determined that the claims administrator owed the provider additional reimbursement.

As long as the CA DWC actually assigns a dispute to Maximus, the odds are in the provider’s favor.

CA DWC Erases Damning IBR Data

The CA DWC’s website currently makes IBR Final Determinations available for disputes only as far back as 2022. Fortunately, daisyBill has maintained IBR determination records going back to 2013.

We’re not surprised that the CA DWC has removed information from its website. As daisyNews repeatedly points out, the CA DWC has a long history of removing critical information from its website. It also routinely fails to collect, analyze, or publish data, even when the law requires it.

Now, older IBR decisions have simply vanished from public access.

When data disappears, accountability disappears with it.

The Compliance Double Standard

The CA DWC enforces strict compliance with billing laws and regulations for providers, but excuses its own repeated, well-documented violations of the law, which it fails to uphold to the benefit of payers who owe additional reimbursement to providers in 90% of IBR disputes.

This double standard rewards payer delays while disadvantaging providers, leaving them without timely recourse to dispute incorrect payments.

daisyNews will keep tracking and reporting the numbers and holding the CA DWC accountable, because no one else is.

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