Fees of attorneys and physicians and hospital charges approved by commission

(A) Attorney fees, physician fees, and hospital charges for services under this title are subject to the approval of the commission, but a physician or hospital may not collect a fee from an employer or insurance carrier until the physician or hospital has made the reports required by the commission in connection with the case. (B)(1) A person may not: (a) receive a fee, gratuity, or other consideration for a service rendered pursuant to this title unless the fee, gratuity, or other consideration is approved by the commission or a court of competent jurisdiction; or (b) make it a business to solicit employment for an attorney or himself with respect to a claim or award for compensation under this title. (2) A violation of this section constitutes a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, each offense is subject to a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. (C)(1) The commission may adopt criteria to establish a new fee schedule or adjust an existing fee schedule to establish maximum allowable payments for medical services provided by medical practitioners exclusive of hospital inpatient services and hospital outpatient services and ambulatory surgery centers based in whole or in part on the requirements of a federally funded program, but if it adopts adjustments to an existing fee schedule, it must adopt these adjustments on an annual basis. The commission, in consultation with the cost containment committee, must establish a medical fee schedule and a related system that includes, but is not limited to, procedures for a review of charges and enforcement and implementation procedures. In establishing the fee schedule, the commission must strive to assure the delivery of quality medical care in workers' compensation cases and access by injured workers to primary and specialist care while controlling prices and system costs. The commission may consider multiple reimbursement systems and methodologies in developing the fee schedule including, but not limited to, applying single or multiple conversion factors to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Resource Based Relative Value Scale (RBRVS) system. (2) The commission, in consultation with the cost containment committee, must review the fee schedules adopted pursuant to this section on an annual basis and, when appropriate, the commission shall revise the fee schedules as necessary. The annual review must consider among other factors, the medical consumer price index and the workers' compensation fee schedules of other states in the region. (3) The commission must hold a public hearing to receive comments from stakeholders and shall consider comments received in consultation with the cost containment committee prior to finalizing the annual fee schedule update. (4) The cost containment committee must be comprised of nine voting members appointed by the chairman of the commission: two members representing the medical provider industry; two members representing the workers' compensation insurance industry; two members representing the employer community; two members representing the rights of injured workers; and the chairman of the commission or his appointee.