CHAPTER 22 SENATE BILL No. 133 An  Act concerning workers compensation; relating to compilation and publication of cer-
tain statistics and data; amending K.S.A. 2002 Supp. 44-557a and repealing the existing
section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:

      Section  1. K.S.A. 2002 Supp. 44-557a is hereby amended to read as
follows: 44-557a. (a) The director shall: (1) Compile and publish statistics
to determine the causation of compensable disabilities in the state of
Kansas and (2) compile and maintain a database of information on claim
characteristics and costs related to open and closed claims, in order to
determine the effectiveness of the workers compensation act to provide
adequate indemnity, medical and vocational rehabilitation compensation
to injured workers and to return injured workers to remunerative em-
ployment. The commissioner of insurance shall cooperate with the direc-
tor and shall make available any information which will assist the director
in compiling such information and statistics and may contract with the
director and the secretary of the department of health and environment
to collect such information as the director deems necessary. The secretary
of revenue shall cooperate with the director and shall disclose individual
income taxpayers names, addresses and social security numbers to the
director to be used solely for the verification of workers compensation
data files. For purposes of this subsection, such disclosure shall not be
considered the disclosure of any particulars of a report or return.

      (b) In order to further the purpose of subsection (a), each self-insured
employer, group-funded workers compensation pool, insurance carrier
and vocational rehabilitation provider and insurance carrier shall submit
to the director the disposition of a statistically significant sample of open
and closed claims under the act and, in connection with the closing of
each claim in which payments were made, the following: (1) The dates,
time intervals, amounts and types of weekly disability payments made, (2)
the dates and gross amounts of payments made to each type of medical
compensation provider, (3) the dates and type of service for which pay-
ment was made and the gross amounts paid to each vocational rehabili-
tation provider, and (4) the dates and types of fees paid as claim costs.
Unless provided by regulations to the contrary, on or after January 1,
2004, any insurer, group-funded workers compensation pool or self-in-
sured employer who voluntarily submits claim information to the director
pursuant to release 1 of the international association of industrial accident
boards and commission's electronic data interchange implementation
guide dated August 9, 1995, and amendments thereto, up to April 4, 2002,
shall be deemed to be in compliance.

      (c) Each self-insured employer, group-funded workers compensation
pool, insurance carrier, vocational rehabilitation provider, or health care
facility shall submit medical information, by procedure, charge and zip
code of the provider, or by hospital charge and related diagnostic and
procedure codes in order to set the maximum medical fee schedule. The
director of workers compensation may adopt and promulgate such rules
and regulations as the director deems necessary for the purposes of ad-
ministering and enforcing the provisions of this section.

      (c) (d) The director may contract for professional actuarial or statis-
tical services to provide assistance in determining the types of information
and the methods of selecting and analyzing information as may be nec-
essary for the director to conduct studies of open and closed claims under
the workers compensation act and to enable the director to make valid
statistical conclusions as to the distribution of costs of workers compen-
sation benefits.

      (d) (e) The director shall obtain such office and computer equipment
and employ such additional clerical help as the director deems necessary
to gather such information and prepare such statistics.

      (e) (f) If a self-insured employer, group-funded workers compensa-
tion pool, insurance carrier or vocational rehabilitation provider or insur-
ance carrier fails to supply the information required by this section, the
director shall issue and serve upon such person a summary order or state-
ment of the charges with respect thereto and a hearing shall be conducted
thereon in accordance with the provisions of the Kansas administrative
procedure act. An administrative penalty of up to $500 for each violation
or act, along with an additional penalty of up to $100 for each week
thereafter that such report or other information is not provided to the
director shall be imposed.

      Sec.  2. K.S.A. 2002 Supp. 44-557a is hereby repealed.

      Sec.  3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.

Approved March 27, 2003.
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