The Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) has issued modified proposed regulations to adopt the Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule (MTUS) drug formulary.

The proposed rulemaking implements Assembly Bill 1124 (Statutes 2015, Chapter 525), which mandates adoption of an evidence-based drug formulary.

DWC has reviewed comments received during the initial comment period and has modified the proposed regulations to provide additional detail and clarity.

The new 15-Day public comment period will end August 2 and members of the public may submit written comments on the proposed regulations until 5 p.m. that day.

Some of the changes proposed in the revised regulations include:

– Moving the effective date to January 1, 2018
– Changing the “Preferred/Non-Preferred” drug designations to “Exempt/Non-Exempt” to better align with how the designations affect the prospective utilization review status of the drug
– Revised provisions relating to phased implementation of the formulary
– Deletion of provisions regarding issues that will be addressed in the utilization review regulations, rather than in the formulary regulations
– Clarification of applicable dispute resolution procedures
– Updated drug listings on the MTUS Drug List and formatting changes.

The proposed formulary regulations are to be adopted at section 9792.27.1, et seq. of title 8 of the California Code of Regulations.

DWC will consider all public comments, and may modify the proposed regulations for consideration during an additional 15-day public comment period. The notice of modification of text of proposed regulation, and related rulemaking documents can be found on the DWC rulemaking web page.