Contact: State Rep. Mark McCullough
Capitol: (405) 557-7414

OKLAHOMA CITY (October 7, 2009) – Members of the House Economic Development and Financial Services Committee considered a major overhaul of Oklahoma’s workers compensation system this week.

State Rep. Mark McCullough, who has authored a major reform bill on the topic, said the state could significantly improve employee benefits and lower business expenses, making Oklahoma more attractive to new industry.

"Our current workers compensation system seems to fail all parties involved except lawyers," said McCullough, a Sapulpa Republican who is also an attorney. "The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, but that has been our approach to workers compensation. It’s time to enact sweeping, meaningful reform."

About a dozen employers attended the legislative study, sharing their deep dissatisfaction with the current workers comp system, which they noted is plagued by fraud and high costs and appears incapable of consistently producing fair and equitable results.

McCullough plans to file legislation that would drive down workers comp costs while improving worker benefits – a plan that is the product of months of collaboration with a working group of longtime industry professionals and The State Chamber.

"This plan contains multiple safeguards to reduce costs to the employer while expediting worker benefits, including an easier path back to work for injured employees," McCullough said. "Injured workers would get the most benefit from this reform thanks to streamlined access to medical care and a focus on vocational rehabilitation."

The legislation would create a three-member Workers’ Compensation Commission to replace the current Workers’ Compensation Court. The commission’s three members would be gubernatorial appointees requiring Senate confirmation, with the membership comprised of a doctor, an attorney and an industry professional with five years experience in worker's compensation issues.

The Commission would make rules, hire and fire all personnel and hear appeals.

McCullough noted that attorney involvement is 50 percent higher in Oklahoma’s workers comp system than the national average.

"Unfortunately, according to speakers at this study, the insane amount of litigation in our system has led to a dubious distinction for Oklahoma: Our system pays out more than 100 percent of the actual cost of the average claim," McCullough said. "That doesn’t benefit workers. Experts have told us our permanent partial disability rates are the highest in the region, but actual medical costs for claims are 40 percent lower than the nation. That tells you our system does little to help workers but a lot to help lawyers."

One speaker at the study noted that although the benefits specified in state law are comparable to work comp benefits in other states, the actual cost of those benefits in Oklahoma is the most expensive in the nation.

"That shows there is a lot of waste in our system," McCullough said.

To reduce expensive and often unnecessary litigation while helping injured employees return to health and work, McCullough’s proposal would move all workers’ compensation claims, issues, and hearings to an administrative process.

The responsibilities and authority of the Workers’ Compensation Commission members would include appointing administrative law judges and possibly medical judges to preside over claims hearings.

McCullough said he is still finalizing the proposal with several options under consideration, "but it is clear we must have a new approach to objectively determine medical treatment and disability ratings."

Under the reforms, administrative law judges would determine compensability, while all medical matters would be determined through an independent process whereby independent physicians make the medical and rating determination instead of judges.

Nationally recognized medical-treatment and disability rating standards would be mandatory for all health care providers and adjudicators in the new system to provide continuity.

In addition, claims would be heard locally so as not to burden the employer or employee who currently must travel to Oklahoma City or Tulsa, no matter where the claim originated.

McCullough also envisions augmenting the current Vocational Rehabilitation program to more aggressively return employees to health and a place of productivity.

"Too often in the current system, we cut an employee a check and then we cut them off," McCullough noted. "I believe we need to treat injured employees as the most valuable natural resource we have in Oklahoma and a more aggressive stance on vocational rehabilitation would accomplish that goal."

He said this week’s hearing demonstrated major workers comp reform is necessary.

"It’s obvious to all that our system is broken and tinkering around the edges won’t fix it," McCullough said. "This year, we must think big and act boldly if we want a workers compensation system that benefits workers and no longer drives employers out of the state.

"I applaud the efforts of Chairman Dan Sullivan, who put together the legislative study on this issue and allowed a very balanced forum for reform advocates to make their case."