Important News for Licensed Clinical Social Workers Regarding the NYS Workers’ Compensation System

“A new law signed as part of Governor Cuomo’s 2019-2020 budget allows more types of medical providers to treat injured workers. Starting January 1, 2020, licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs), nurse practitioners, acupuncturists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and physician assistants can be authorized to treat workers’ compensation patients. This is great news for injured workers and providers alike — injured workers will have improved access to quality health care and medical providers can expand their practices.”  See below as well as PDF Flier  for more details.

What the new law means for licensed clinical social workers Starting January 1, 2020, Board-authorized licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) can treat patients with work-related injuries or conditions and bill for services under their own Board authorization. See our fact sheet for more information on workers’ compensation and what it means to be an authorized provider. Authorization process To apply for authorization, you will need to: Sign up to use the NYS Workers’ Compensation Board Medical Portal, a new online resource for medical providers, insurance carriers and other workers’ compensation system participants. Complete the required training courses — note that training must be completed before he authorization application can be submitted. Complete the online application, (once you’ve been notified it’s available on the Medical Portal) and submit it to the Board. What should LCSWs do now? While the online application for authorization is not yet available, those interested in becoming Board-authorized can get a head start by signing up to access the Medical Portal and completing the required training. Sign up to Access the Medical Portal To access the Medical Portal and new provider training, you must have an NY.gov ID.  This is not the personal NY.gov ID that you may have with other agencies, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Taxation and Finance, etc. An NY.gov User ID and temporary password will be generated for you when you register for Medical Portal access. When you register for access, you will be asked for your email address. This should be your individual email address, not a group or practice email address. Sign up for the Medical Portal! Complete Required Training Once you have access to the Medical Portal, and before applying for Board authorization, you must complete the following training modules required for PTs and OTs: Medical Portal Medical Request Forms (C-4 AUTH, MG-2 and MG-1) Billing: Medical Fee Schedules Dispute Resolution Impairment Guidelines Medical Treatment Guidelines Variances This training will be delivered through the CourseMill learning management system, which you will access through the Medical Portal. Once you’ve received your Medical Portal credentials, you can access the training by selecting Medical Portal from the “Log in to Access” box on the top right of the Board’s website homepage (wcb.ny.gov). From the Medical Portal homepage, select Medical Provider, then Training, and then Training Requirements for Provider Authorization. You will see a listing of the required courses by provider type with links to CourseMill. When accessing CourseMill for the first time, you will set up a new user account using the same email address you used when signing up for the Medical Portal. On future visits, you may be able to bypass the CourseMill login when signed into the Medical Portal. More information and resources Additional information on the Expanded Provider Law is available at wcb.ny.gov/newprovider, including frequently asked questions, a chart detailing changes for providers and a fact sheet for licensed clinical social workers. For more information on signing up for the Medical Portal, please see the Board’s video: Signing up to Access the NYS Workers’ Compensation Board Medical Portal. To stay informed of Workers’ Compensation Board news, sign up to get WCB notifications.