Kansas bill would amend rules on information disclosure in comp

A bill was introduced on Friday in the Kansas state House of Representatives by the Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic Development that would make notification to an injured employee by an employer or insurer of any change to workers compensation benefits discretionary.

H.B. 2704 would provide that neither the employer of an injured worker nor the employer’s insurer be required to notify the injured worker of any change or termination of medical or disability benefits. The bill also would provide that employees seeking workers compensation benefits waive the patient privilege preventing access to medical information and would prohibit infringement of the employer’s right to direct medical treatment.

If adopted, H.B. 2704 would provide that partial work weeks be counted as full weeks for purposes of computing average wages and would exclude expert witness costs from court costs that may be awarded to a claimant.