National – Federal lawmakers have introduced two workers’ compensation bills this week:
- H.R. 10001, would expand eligibility for the federal workers' compensation cancer presumption for firefighters. The legislation would explicitly include fuels specialists, burn bosses, and prescribed fire crew members within the definition of employees performing fire protection activities. It would also clarify that the presumption applies to workers engaged in prescribed burning and wildfire prevention activities, in addition to traditional fire suppression duties
- H.R. 9869 would make changes to the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) by requiring injured federal workers to receive medical treatment through employer-contracted managed care networks. The bill would direct federal agencies to contract with managed care organizations and require the U.S. Department of Labor to develop treatment protocols based on healthcare industry best practices. If enacted, the measure would increase employer-directed medical care within the federal workers' compensation system and could affect how injured federal employees access treatment following workplace injuries.
- Enlyte released its 2026 In-Network vs. Out-of-Network Drug Trends Report, analyzing 2025 pharmacy claims across workers' compensation and auto casualty markets. The report found that prescriptions filled out of network cost an average of 67% more than those filled in network. The report also found that targeted interventions on inflated or unnecessary products generated average savings of $915 per prescription. Additionally, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Illinois had the highest overall drug spending, largely influenced by state-specific pharmacy and physician dispensing regulations.
Arizona – The Industrial Commission of Arizona released a proposed update to the Arizona Physicians and Pharmaceutical Fee Schedule on its Medical Resource Office webpage. The proposal outlines updates to the Pharmaceutical Guidelines that would take effect May 1, 2027. Stakeholders may submit written comments to the ICA Medical Resource Office via email at MRO@azica.gov. The Commission also indicated that additional updates to the 2027 Physicians' and Pharmaceutical Fee Schedule will be proposed next year and discussed during a future stakeholder meeting.
Texas – The Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) announced it is seeking stakeholder feedback on an informal working draft that would adopt the American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, Sixth Edition (2025) for calculating impairment ratings. Under the proposal, impairment ratings would be determined using the updated Sixth Edition beginning January 1, 2028. DWC will host a virtual stakeholder presentation on August 12, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. CT to review the proposed timeline and implementation process. Interested stakeholders may join via Zoom (Meeting ID: 165 372 4897; Passcode: 369796). Written comments may be submitted through 5:00 p.m. CT on August 13, 2026, via email to RuleComments@tdi.texas.gov.
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