Committee approves bill letting injured workers pick accredited treating physician, with geographic limits and burden-of-proof removed

DENVER — The House Business Affairs and Labor Committee on Wednesday voted 8‑5 to advance House Bill 1,300, a measure that would let Colorado workers injured on the job designate any physician accredited by the Division of Workers' Compensation, subject to new geographic limits and other guardrails.

Representative Willeford, the bill sponsor, opened the hearing by describing the injuries of an individual named Keith and saying the measure would “give workers more choices to make decisions for themselves about the care that they need” by allowing injured workers to “choose any doctor who is accredited by the division of workers' compensation.”

The bill drew extensive testimony from both proponents and opponents. Supporters included labor unions and injured workers who described delayed care, trouble getting appropriate specialists and difficulty securing diagnostic tests under the current designated‑provider system. Erin Montgomery, president‑elect of the Workers' Compensation Education Association (WCEA), told the committee that the current system “is bogged down with litigation” and argued that allowing choice within limits would speed recoveries and returns to work. “We think injured workers should choose their own physician within some parameters, just like the rest of medicine in America works,” Montgomery said.

Opponents — including self‑insured employers, insurers and business groups —…