Pharmaceutical use in workers' compensation cases has been reformed due to Pennsylvania House Bill 1846 or Act 184. This bill helps lower the cost of quality health care for Pennsylvanian workers. This bill accomplishes this by removing a price-adjustment loophole that allowed prescription drugs to be repackaged and dispensed to injured workers directly from their doctor.

This law intends to not only keep the price of quality healthcare down for workers, but to also prevent the abuse of addictive painkillers such as opioid based pain medicine. Act 184 enacts a 30-day limit on physician-dispensed drugs, starting the day of initial treatment of the patient. In regards to Schedule II and III drugs, like opioids, there is a seven-day limit but a 15-day extension if the patient requires surgery. Act 184 also bans a physician from handing out over-the-counter drugs and puts a cap on the cost of drugs.

Before this bill was passed the worker's compensation premiums for employers were inflated. According to estimates done by the state Department of Labor and Industry and the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania, this bill could decrease prescription costs by 15 percent while also helping employers save $33 million a year.

As a worker you are entitled to benefits if you are hurt on the job, or from other ailments caused by your job requirements. If you believe you have a right to workers' compensation contact the workers' compensation lawyers at Dallas W. Hartman, P.C. at 800-777-4081 for a free consultation.

Source: Insurance News Net " Workers' Comp/Pharmaceutical Reform Bill Becomes Law" 28 October, 2014