Hawaii

Discussion

Hawaii: Workers’ Compensation Treatment Plan Rules Amended

Effective July 1, 2026, HB 1509 revises Hawaii’s workers’ compensation law to repeal the option for physicians to transmit a treatment plan to an employer by mail or fax, and now requires employers who wish to deny a treatment plan to file a written denial with the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations within seven days of receipt. The burden is on the employer to show, by a preponderance of medical evidence, that the denial is justified, and a denial not supported by a medical opinion or existing medical records at the time of denial is presumed unreasonable. A treatment plan is deemed accepted if the employer fails to file a written denial within the seven day period, and employers must pay the applicable health care provider for medical care under any accepted or deemed-accepted plan. The law also establishes penalties for employers found to have denied a treatment plan without reasonable grounds, frivolously, or primarily to cause delay, as well as for failing to pay for care under an accepted plan.

 

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