New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s efforts to revamp workers’ comp and improve injured workers’ access to care are coming to fruition.

Hochul’s ambitious roadmap includes several concrete measures, from incentivizing insurers to green-light treatment to increasing fee schedule rates. One key goal is to expand the pool of providers eligible to treat injured workers—and the Governor recently signed legislation to accomplish precisely that.

New York now allows resident and fellow physicians to treat injured workers under the supervision of faculty physicians, a move that could bring tens of thousands of providers into the system.

As Hochul stated in a release from the Governor’s office, “Every worker in New York deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.” If only the leadership in other states felt similarly.

Breakthrough: NY Residents, Fellows May Treat Injured Workers

On May 9, 2025, the Governor's office announced that effective immediately, resident and fellow physicians are eligible to treat New York’s injured workers just as they do Medicare and private insurance patients.

Residents and fellows may treat workers’ comp patients subject to the following conditions:

1. The resident or fellow must be in a program accredited by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).
2. The resident or fellow may only treat injured workers under supervision by a faculty physician.

According to the Governor’s office, this could bring 20,000 new treating providers into the system across nearly 70 teaching hospitals statewide. The move will undoubtedly expand access to treatment for injured workers, particularly in underserved areas where patients travel significant distances to find eligible providers.

To help onboard residents and fellows into the system, the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) created a dedicated web page with:

• Treatment guideline information
• Clinical notes guidance
• Billing information
• Webinars, toolkits, and training resources specific to workers’ comp

Additional guidance is available in this WCB Subject Number. The WCB also announced its intention to “adopt emergency regulations” to further support residents and fellows treating injured workers.

NY Workers’ Comp Overhaul: Just Getting Started

Bringing resident and fellow physicians into the system is only the first of several impending changes. Additionally:

• Providers must bill electronically for all injured worker treatment and submit billing data to the WCB effective August 1, 2025.
• Insurers will be able to authorize treatment for medical-only claims without accepting liability beginning in 2027 (more details to come—stay tuned).
• Plans to authorize all licensed providers to treat injured workers without a separate WCB approval process presumably remain on the table.
• The WCB “plans to use its regulatory authority to increase its workers’ compensation fee schedules.”

New York is aggressively and proactively improving its workers’ comp system. Other states should pay close attention and follow suit.

Don’t settle for a simple clearinghouse—daisyBill is a WCB-approved XML Submission Partner and end-to-end workers’ comp billing software.

LEARN MORE: DAISYBILL FOR NY WORKERS’ COMP