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Committee advances Cruz bill adopting ODG guidelines for workers’ compensation with two‑year trial
Summary
The House and Labor & Industrial Relations Committee voted 7–6 to report House Bill 819, which would adopt the Official Disability Guidelines (ODG) by MCG/Hearst as the primary medical treatment schedule for Louisiana workers’ compensation on a two‑year trial with a sunset/reversion if expected savings don’t materialize.
Chairman Cruz presented House Bill 819 on May 7, asking the committee to replace the state’s current medical treatment schedule for workers’ compensation with the Official Disability Guidelines (ODG) by MCG, a Hearst Health company, and the panel adopted a trial amendment before narrowly sending the bill forward.
Cruz said the change would align Louisiana with a nationally maintained, evidence‑reviewed set of guidelines that proponents say shortens disability duration and reduces claim costs. "It compiles evidence and gives physicians a resource to expedite claims," Cruz said, adding that adoption would cost physicians about $400 per site per year but would not require general‑fund spending.
The bill’s author and ODG witness, Troy Prevost, described the product as a continuously updated editorial guideline reviewed by physicians and statisticians. Prevost told the committee ODG is used as a statutory primary guideline in 13 states and is available to clinicians in all 50. State Medical…
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