State of the States March 14, 2025

National – Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee will convene a nomination hearing on Friday, March 14, 2025, at 10:00 AM to evaluate Dr. Mehmet Oz for the position of Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). 

BGR released a policy update titled "Five Early Decisions for CMS," which outlines key policy decisions that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will need to address early in 2025. These decisions include adjusting Medicare Advantage payment rates to ensure sustainability and fairness, evaluating the impact and future of Medicaid expansion under current regulations, implementing strategies to control rising prescription drug costs, expanding and regulating telehealth services to improve accessibility and quality of care, and promoting value-based care models to enhance patient outcomes and reduce costs.

Healthsystems and Risk & Insurance released The Workers’ Compensation Industry Insights Survey. The survey, which included input from 515 people in the industry, found that lawsuits are now the biggest problem in the workers' compensation industry, instead of healthcare issues. Other major industry problems are insufficient healthcare providers and poor worker health. 

Arkansas – Two bills are scheduled for Committee hearings this week: 

• • • HB 1531 is scheduled for a House Committee on Insurance and Commerce hearing this week. As a reminder, HB 1531 aims to prohibit pharmaceutical manufacturers from restricting or limiting the distribution of prescription medications to a limited network of out-of-state pharmacies. 

• SB 288 is scheduled for a Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor hearing this week. As a reminder, SB 288 aims to simplify the process for injured workers to change their treating physician under the Workers’ Compensation Law. The bill proposes streamlining the procedure, adjusting approval requirements from employers or insurance carriers, and introducing new notification protocols to ensure timely communication. 

Maryland – Maryland's Joint Enforcement Task Force on Workplace Fraud released a report, as noted in an Insurance Journal article, revealing widespread worker misclassification across the state. This misclassification leaves thousands of workers without injury protection and costs insurance companies over $58 million annually in workers' compensation premiums. The report highlights that more than 5,500 workers were misclassified as independent contractors in 2024, with the actual numbers likely being higher. The task force recommends increased accountability for general contractors and incentives for businesses that comply with the law.

SB 306 passed the Senate this week. As a reminder, SB 306, aims to regulate the reimbursement of prescription drugs and pharmaceutical services under workers’ compensation laws. Specifically, the bill mandates the State Workers’ Compensation Commission to set fees based on acquisition cost plus a reasonable dispensing fee and review these fees biennially.  

New York - The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) released its annual construction fatality report, Deadly Skyline. According to the report, there were 24 deaths in 2022 to 30 deaths in 2023. Additionally, NYCOSH's analysis indicated that 74% of these fatal incidents involved preventable safety violations.

Tennessee -  SB 289 is scheduled for a Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor hearing this week. As a reminder, SB 289 would enable first responders to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits without the burden of proving that their job directly caused their post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Specifically, the bill establishes a presumption that if a law enforcement officer or emergency medical responder is diagnosed with PTSD as a result of responding to certain incidents, it is considered to have been incurred in the line of duty.

Texas - Two bills were introduced in the House this week:  

• • • SB 2013 allows physicians specializing in ophthalmology to dispense non-systemic dangerous drugs, such as eye drops or ointments, directly to their patients. The bill would allow physicians to charge for stocking, storing, and labeling these drugs without needing a pharmacy license. It also requires compliance with labeling, packaging, and recordkeeping regulations for these drugs. 

• HB 673 aims to allow first responders to be eligible for workers' compensation benefits if they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to events experienced while on duty. According to the bill text, eligible first responders include peace officers, emergency care attendants, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), advanced EMTs, EMT-paramedics, licensed paramedics, and firefighters. The bill also specifies that PTSD must be diagnosed as caused by one or more work-related events, with evidence showing these events were the primary cause of the disorder. 

Virginia –HB 1993, was sent to the Governor with an action deadline of March 24th. As a reminder, HB 1993 aims to expand workers’ compensation benefits by creating a presumption for throat cancer among certain public safety employees. The covered employees include salaried or volunteer firefighters, State Police Officers, local police department members, sheriffs and deputy sheriffs, hazardous materials officers, city sergeants, Virginia Marine Police officers, conservation police officers, Capitol Police officers, special agents of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, airport police officers, Virginia Port Authority police officers, campus police officers, and salaried or volunteer emergency medical services personnel.

Stay connected to all relevant information in workers' compensation and pharmacy by subscribing to our weekly newsletter. For the previous wrap-up, please click here.