Utilization Review

CA Governor Vetoes UR Bill
Sep 26, 2024
CA Governor Vetoes UR Bill
California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed California Senate Bill 636, which would have required that Utilization Review (UR) for private employers be conducted only by Californ...
Liberty Mutual Feeds UR Vendors (While CA Worker Waits for Care)
Sep 20, 2024
Liberty Mutual Feeds UR Vendors (While CA Worker Waits for Care)
In California workers’ comp, Utilization Review (UR) is the process by which claims administrators decide whether or not to authorize the care recommended by an injured worke...
Sedgwick Boasts 54% Denial Rate for Injured Worker Treatment
Sep 19, 2024
Sedgwick Boasts 54% Denial Rate for Injured Worker Treatment
Editor’s note: As predicted below, Sedgwick removed the 54% statistic from its marketing website, shortly after the publication of this article. Who coul...
Liberty Mutual: 23-Month Wait for Surgery in CA
Sep 18, 2024
Liberty Mutual: 23-Month Wait for Surgery in CA
If you need proof of how dysfunctional California workers’ comp is—and that absurdly long claim durations have become the appalling standard—see the 23-month ordeal an injure...
CA SB 636 Demands CA-Licensed UR Physicians
Sep 17, 2024
CA SB 636 Demands CA-Licensed UR Physicians
California Senate Bill 636, which addresses a vital aspect of the Utilization Review (UR) process in workers’ comp, is on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature.In...
CA UR: AmTrust & Genex Deny Care With ODG (Again)
Apr 2, 2024
CA UR: AmTrust & Genex Deny Care With ODG (Again)
What suffering must befall injured workers before California bothers to enforce its meager Utilization Review (UR) requirements?When considering which treatments are n...
Will CA Clean Up Authorization/UR Issues?
Feb 9, 2024
Will CA Clean Up Authorization/UR Issues?
When it comes to payer abuse of the authorization process in healthcare, the jig isn’t exactly up yet — but federal legislators and regulators seem to be catching on to priva...
CA Authorization & UR Confusion Reigns
Feb 8, 2024
CA Authorization & UR Confusion Reigns
Last week, we reported on the California Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC)’s decision to delete an important FAQ from its website. Until the deletion, the FAQ affirmed ...
Albertsons Employee's Post-Amputation UR Nightmare
Jan 9, 2024
Albertsons Employee's Post-Amputation UR Nightmare
Two days before Christmas in 2022, an Albertsons Companies employee suffered “traumatic amputations” of three toes in a work accident. This worker lived alone on the t...
Sedgwick's UR Obstacle Course Delays Care
Nov 8, 2023
Sedgwick's UR Obstacle Course Delays Care
Welcome to California workers’ comp, where the law requires two doctors to do the job of one:A treating physician to heal the injured worker A Utilization Revie...
SCIF Inept UR #7: Truly Unbelievable Incompetence
Oct 3, 2023
SCIF Inept UR #7: Truly Unbelievable Incompetence
Employees, taxpayers, and moral human beings should be outraged by Utilization Review (UR) abuse inflicted on a state employee by the State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF)...
SCIF Inept UR #6: Non-MTUS Guidelines Strike Again
Sep 29, 2023
SCIF Inept UR #6: Non-MTUS Guidelines Strike Again
Once again, State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) and EK Health denied surgery for an injured worker by citing unadopted, alternative treatment guidelines outside of Calif...