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Senate panel weighs S.173 changes to speed vocational-rehab referrals after work injuries
Summary
Testimony on S.173 centered on removing an initial state screening step and allowing injured workers earlier access to private vocational-rehabilitation counselors; claimants and a private counselor described lengthy delays that harmed workers, while insurers urged retaining gatekeepers to control costs. The Department of Labor signaled conditional support and suggested targeted improvements and stakeholder work before final action.
The committee examined S.173 provisions aimed at improving vocational rehabilitation (VR) services for injured Vermonters by reducing delay and improving notice.
Kelly Massacott, a claimant's attorney, summarized three goals in the bill: (1) better notice to injured workers that they may be able to request VR in the future; (2) eliminate an initial state screening that attorneys and counselors described as ineffective and causing delay; and (3) allow injured workers to initiate VR services after 90 days out of work if carriers have not…
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