Under Pennsylvania’s Worker’s Compensation (WC) Act, an Impairment Rating Evaluation (IRE) may be performed after a claimant has received total WC disability benefits for at least 104 weeks to determine how the claim will be categorized moving forward.  The physicians who perform these medical examinations must obtain a special certification and meet requirements in the law and regulations.
 
As many of the older physicians qualified to perform IREs retire without younger doctors obtaining the appropriate certifications, the number of certified doctors has dwindled, and a shortage of these doctors may eventually lead to delays in scheduling IREs.
 
My legislation will remove a requirement that physicians performing IREs maintain an active clinical practice for at least 20 hours per week.  I believe that removing this requirement will allow certified physicians to continue performing IRE after they have retired, and hopefully it will help prevent future shortages.
 
Please consider joining me in co-sponsoring this legislation.

Sincerely,

Parke Wentling
State Representative
7th Legislative District

(Please click the link below to view the legislation)