Governor Eliot Spitzer is pleased with the progress that has been made so far to reform New Yorks ailing workers compensation system, the governors spokesperson said.

The Insurance Department is well on track to achieve the governors goal of significant and necessary regulatory reform of New Yorks workers compensation system, Marc Violette, Spitzers spokesperson said.

Violette was specifically referring to the progress update the department sent to the governor on April 27. In a letter to Spitzer, the department provided a general outline of its plans to implement the new legislation by early next year.

The three major changes that are anticipated are improved data collection, streamlined adjudication procedures, and new medical guidelines.

Although the Workers Compensation Board began collecting information on claimants demographics and receipt of payments, awards, and settlements in 2000, it does not currently track the related medical expenses. The Insurance Department intends to request that all workers compensation insurance carriers who do track those costs submit that information to a third party data warehouse. It will also request that the board submit its data to the same third party to create a unified, state-wide repository.

The department also intends to work with the Labor Department, the states Unemployment Insurance System, and carriers to begin tracking injured workers return-to-work rates and workers compensation insurance rates, and to develop improved vocational retraining programs.

The department hopes to have these data collection systems operational by March 1, 2008.

The Workers Compensation Board, as a result, has been working closely with the Insurance Department to meet these goals.

We have changed every aspect of our agency to comply with these laws, said Donna Ferrara, chairperson of the Workers Compensation Board. The Workers Compensation Board is on track to make all of the deadlines. The new legislation is very comprehensive.

The Insurance Department is also developing ways to limit the number of disputed cases " currently 41 percent of all claims filed " and to reduce the amount of time it takes to resolve each case. The department plans to submit its proposals to Ferrara by June 1.

The third major change the department is working on is adjusting medical guidelines to comply with the new legislation. This will require the department to develop standards for determining the level of impairment of an injured worker, and guidelines for treating common occupational injuries. By standardizing diagnosis and treatment of disability, the department hopes to reduce disputes and ensure that injured workers receive appropriate care, which is supposed to increase the rate at which they return to work. The department is currently developing a process to determine these best practices and hopes to begin consulting in June with medical professionals and officials from other states that have had success implementing similar guidelines. The final guidelines are expected by December 1, 2007.