Amends TCA Title 50, Chapter 6.

If an employer or workers' compensation insurance carrier, following reasonable notice, fails to provide reasonable and necessary medical expenses and treatment, or reimbursement for such expenses and treatment, pursuant to a workers' compensation settlement, judgment, or decree, the court may require the employer or carrier to pay an additional sum of up to 25 percent of the medical expenses if the court finds that the claim was refused in bad faith. This bill replaces "bad faith" with "wrongfully" and defines "wrongfully" to mean "erroneously, incorrectly, or in a manner otherwise inconsistent with the law or facts." Present law generally caps attorney's fees in workers compensation cases at 20 percent of the award to the injured worker. The attorney's fees are subject to the approval of the workers' compensation judge, but there is a presumption that an attorney's fee is reasonable if it does not exceed the 20-percent cap. This bill removes the presumption of reasonableness. In order to introduce a medical report as testimony in a workers' compensation case, present law requires that the report bear the physician's original signature or be a copy of the report that is accompanied by an affidavit signed by the physician or the submitting attorney. This bill authorizes physicians to sign the reports by electronic signature and authorizes the admission into evidence of a reproduced medical report that was originally signed unless a genuine question is raised as to the authenticity of the original, which question must be resolved by a workers' compensation judge. Present law requires that any settlement agreement reached during a mediation conducted by a workers' compensation mediator must be reduced to writing by the mediator. This bill adds authorization for the attorney for either party to prepare the written settlement agreement. Present law authorizes payment of temporary disability and medical benefits from the uninsured employers fund to an employee who suffered a compensable injury in the employ of an employer who failed to secure workers' compensation coverage or self-insure. This bill adds authorization to pay death benefits from the uninsured employers fund. The maximum amount payable from the fund to an employee for death benefits will be $20,000, which is the present law maximum for each of the temporary disability medical benefits. Present law authorizes the chief administrative officer of the bureau of workers' compensation, in consultation with the medical care and cost containment committee and the advisory council on workers' compensation, to establish by rule a comprehensive medical fee schedule and a related system that includes, but is not limited to, procedures for review of charges, enforcement procedures and appeal hearings to implement the fee schedule. This bill adds authorization for the administrator to establish by rule a voluntary physician education program that provides an additional reimbursement under the comprehensive medical fee schedule. The additional reimbursement must be available to physicians and chiropractors. This bill requires the administrator to determine in rule the education and quality improvement requirements to receive the additional reimbursement. ON FEBRUARY 16, 2023, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENTS #1 AND #2 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 263, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 makes the following revisions to the provisions of Section 1 of this bill: (1) Provides that the employer or workers' compensation carrier may become liable after receiving actual notice, instead of reasonable notice, of the obligation to provide the medical treatment; (2) Adds that before liability attaches to the employer or carrier, the employer or carrier must be given a reasonable opportunity to obtain the information and documentation necessary to pay medical expenses or provide medical treatment; and (3) Adds an exception that releases an employer or carrier from liability if payment of the subject medical expense is issued, or reasonable and necessary medical treatment is authorized, within 60 days of the employer's or carriers' receipt of information and documentation reasonably necessary to issue payment of the subject medical expense or determine liability for reasonable and necessary medical treatment. This amendment also revises the provisions of Section 2 of this bill relative to attorney's fees awarded to employees under the Workers' Compensation Law to add that such fees must be paid by the party employing the attorney. AMENDMENT #2 adds a new section to this bill that revises a provision of present law authorizing, in addition to attorneys' fees, the court of workers' compensation claims to award reasonable costs, including, but not limited to, reasonable and necessary court reporter expenses and expert witness fees for depositions and trials, incurred when the employer wrongfully denies a claim or wrongfully fails to timely initiate any of the benefits to which the employee or dependent is entitled under the workers' compensation law, including medical benefits, temporary or permanent disability benefits, or death benefits if the workers' compensation judge makes a finding that the benefits were owed at an expedited hearing or compensation hearing. For purposes of this provision, "wrongfully" means erroneous, incorrect, or otherwise inconsistent with the law or facts. Present law provides that the above provision applies to injuries that occur between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2023. This amendment replaces "June 30, 2023" with "June 30, 2025". ON MARCH 13, 2023, THE HOUSE SUBSTITUTED SENATE BILL 263 FOR HOUSE BILL 82, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED SENATE BILL 263, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 incorporates the changes made by Senate Amendments #1 and 2, but makes authorization to order an additional payment to a claimant contingent on an employer's or workers' compensation carrier's "unreasonable" (instead of "wrongful") failure to timely provide reimbursement or medical services. This amendment makes a similar change to present law concerning authorization for a court to award attorney fees following an expedited hearing for payment of workers' compensation benefits. Under this amendment, attorney fees may be awarded based on an unreasonable (rather than wrongful) denial of a claim or failure to timely pay benefits.