The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry’s workers’ compensation executive committee has submitted its latest proposal to further limit the rights of injured workers. The proposal outlines five areas where it believes it will “improve the quality of care while curtailing waste and abuse.” The five areas are prescription drugs, the utilization review process, fee scheduling of medical bills, longer periods of managed care and administrative issues. To start, we’ll look at the prescription drug changes the chamber has proposed.
Mandatory Drug Testing
The chamber wants mandatory drug testing at set intervals when Schedule II narcotics are prescribed. The most common Schedule II prescriptions are oxycontin, fentanyl and hydromorphone. The chamber claims that this will ensure that the patient is taking the drug as opposed to selling drugs on the street and will be a cost-saving mechanism.
