Workers' compensation

2025-2026 Bill 3874: Workers' compensation

South Carolina General Assembly

126th Session, 2025-2026

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This Bill
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A185, R187, H3874

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill

Sponsors: Reps. J.E. Johnson and Schuessler

Companion/Similar bill(s): 286

Document Path: LC-0040PH25.docx

Introduced in the House on January 30, 2025

Introduced in the Senate on March 26, 2026

Last Amended on May 5, 2026

Currently residing in the House

Governor's Action: May 18, 2026, Signed

Summary: Workers' compensation

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

1/30/2025

House

Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 48
)

1/30/2025

House

Referred to Committee on
Labor, Commerce and Industry
(
House Journal-page 48
)

1/20/2026

House

Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Schuessler

3/24/2026

House

Committee report: Favorable with amendment
Labor, Commerce and Industry
(
House Journal-page 15
)

3/25/2026

House

Amended (
House Journal-page 30
)

3/25/2026

House

Read second time (
House Journal-page 30
)

3/25/2026

House

Roll call Yeas-111 Nays-0 (
House Journal-page 32
)

3/26/2026

House

Read third time and sent to Senate (
House Journal-page 32
)

3/26/2026

Senate

Introduced and read first time (
Senate Journal-page 11
)

3/26/2026

Senate

Referred to Committee on
Judiciary
(
Senate Journal-page 11
)

4/29/2026

Senate

Committee report: Favorable with amendment
Judiciary

5/5/2026

Senate

Committee Amendment Adopted

5/5/2026

Senate

Amended

5/5/2026

Senate

Read second time

5/5/2026

Senate

Roll call Ayes-45 Nays-0

5/6/2026

Scrivener's error corrected

5/6/2026

Senate

Read third time and returned to House with amendments (
Senate Journal-page 81
)

5/12/2026

House

Debate adjourned (
House Journal-page 103
)

5/13/2026

House

Concurred in Senate amendment and enrolled (
House Journal-page 69
)

5/13/2026

House

Roll call Yeas-115 Nays-0 (
House Journal-page 69
)

5/14/2026

Ratified R 187

5/18/2026

Signed By Governor

6/2/2026

Effective date 05/18/26

6/2/2026

Act No. 185

View the latest
legislative information
at the website

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

01/30/2025
03/24/2026
03/25/2026
04/29/2026
05/05/2026
05/06/2026

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

NOTE: THIS IS A TEMPORARY VERSION. THIS DOCUMENT WILL REMAIN IN THIS VERSION UNTIL FINAL APPROVAL BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

(A185, R187, H3874)

AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 42-15-90, RELATING TO FEES OF ATTORNEYS AND PHYSICIANS AND HOSPITAL CHARGES APPROVED BY THE COMMISSION, SO AS TO REQUIRE THE COMMISSION TO ESTABLISH MEDICAL FEE SCHEDULES AND RELATED SYSTEMS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Fee schedules

SECTION 1. Section 42-15-90(C) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(C)(1) The commission may adopt criteria to establish a new fee schedule or adjust an existing fee schedule to establish maximum allowable payments for medical services provided by medical practitioners exclusive of hospital inpatient services and hospital outpatient services and ambulatory surgery centers based in whole or in part on the requirements of a federally funded program, but if it adopts adjustments to an existing fee schedule, it must adopt these adjustments on an annual basis. The commission, in consultation with the cost containment committee, must establish a medical fee schedule and a related system that includes, but is not limited to, procedures for a review of charges and enforcement and implementation procedures. In establishing the fee schedule, the commission must strive to assure the delivery of quality medical care in workers' compensation cases and access by injured workers to primary and specialist care while controlling prices and system costs. The commission may consider multiple reimbursement systems and methodologies in developing the fee schedule including, but not limited to, applying single or multiple conversion factors to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Resource Based Relative Value Scale (RBRVS) system.

(2) The commission, in consultation with the cost containment committee, must review the fee schedules adopted pursuant to this section on an annual basis and, when appropriate, the commission shall revise the fee schedules as necessary. The annual review must consider among other factors, the medical consumer price index and the workers' compensation fee schedules of other states in the region.

(3) The commission must hold a public hearing to receive comments from stakeholders and shall consider comments received in consultation with the cost containment committee prior to finalizing the annual fee schedule update.

(4) The cost containment committee must be comprised of nine voting members appointed by the chairman of the commission: two members representing the medical provider industry; two members representing the workers' compensation insurance industry; two members representing the employer community; two members representing the rights of injured workers; and the chairman of the commission or his appointee.

Time effective

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Ratified the 14th day of May, 2026.

Approved the 18th day of May, 2026.

__________

This web page was last updated on
June 2, 2026 at 10:52 AM