Workers’ compensation: qualified medical evaluators.

Healthcare Labor

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Wallis
Last action: 2025-10-03
Official status: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 298, Statutes of 2025.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Workers' Compensation: Medical Evaluators

This law requires the creation and use of specific forms for communicating with medical evaluators in workers' compensation cases.

What This Bill Does

Requires the Administrative Director to create a form for requesting medical evaluations from qualified medical evaluators (QMEs).
Requires the Administrative Director to make available a template report form that QMEs must use when writing their reports.
Requires the Division of Workers’ Compensation to adopt rules by January 1, 2027, to follow these new requirements.

Who It Names or Affects

Workers who need medical evaluations for workers' compensation claims.
Employers involved in disputes over workers' compensation claims.
Qualified Medical Evaluators (QMEs) who perform evaluations and write reports.
The Administrative Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation.

Terms To Know

Qualified Medical Evaluator (QME): A doctor chosen to do a medical evaluation for workers' compensation claims when there are disagreements about an injury or illness at work.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what happens if the Administrative Director fails to create these forms by the deadline.
It is unclear how long it will take for the Division of Workers’ Compensation to adopt the necessary regulations after January 1, 2027.

Bill History

2025-10-03 California Legislative Information
Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 298, Statutes of 2025.
2025-10-03 California Legislative Information
Approved by the Governor.
2025-09-24 California Legislative Information
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.
2025-09-12 California Legislative Information
Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 3419.).
2025-09-12 California Legislative Information
In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
2025-09-11 California Legislative Information
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 2931.).
2025-09-09 California Legislative Information
Ordered to special consent calendar.
2025-09-02 California Legislative Information
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
2025-08-29 California Legislative Information
Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.
2025-08-29 California Legislative Information
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 29).
2025-06-30 California Legislative Information
In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.
2025-06-18 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (June 18). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
2025-06-11 California Legislative Information
Referred to Com. on L., P.E. & R.
2025-06-03 California Legislative Information
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
2025-06-02 California Legislative Information
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 1932.)
2025-05-27 California Legislative Information
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
2025-05-23 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (May 23).
2025-05-14 California Legislative Information
In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
2025-04-23 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 17. Noes 0.) (April 23). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
2025-04-10 California Legislative Information
Re-referred to Com. on INS.
2025-04-09 California Legislative Information
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on INS. Read second time and amended.
2025-03-25 California Legislative Information
Re-referred to Com. on INS.
2025-03-24 California Legislative Information
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on INS. Read second time and amended.
2025-03-24 California Legislative Information
Referred to Com. on INS.
2025-02-24 California Legislative Information
Read first time.
2025-02-22 California Legislative Information
From printer. May be heard in committee March 24.
2025-02-21 California Legislative Information
Introduced. To print.

Official Summary Text

AB 1293, Wallis.
Workers’ compensation: qualified medical evaluators.
Existing law establishes a workers’ compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries arising out of and in the course of their employment. Existing law establishes procedures for the resolution of disputes regarding the compensability of an injury, including the use of a qualified medical evaluator (QME) to perform a comprehensive medical-legal evaluation to address all contested medical issues arising from all injuries reported in a claim. Existing law requires all communications with a panel QME before a medical evaluation to be in writing served on the opposing party 20 days in advance of the evaluation, and any subsequent communication with the QME to be in writing and served on the opposing party when the communication is sent to the QME.
This
bill would require the administrative director to develop and make available a medical evaluation request form for communicating with a panel qualified medical evaluator in advance of an evaluation obtained pursuant to the above provisions. The bill would require the administrative director to develop and make available a template QME report form, which will include all necessary statutory and regulatory requirements for a QME report. The bill would require the Division of Workers’ Compensation to adopt regulations to implement these provisions by January 1, 2027.

Current Bill Text

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