Kansas governor signs bill increasing comp benefits

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly Thursday signed a workers compensation bill that includes benefit increases and more restrictive criteria for injured workers to receive future care after reaching maximum medical improvement.

S.B. 430 increases permanent total disability benefits to $400,000 from $155,000. The bill increases the maximum temporary total, permanent partial and temporary partial disability benefit to $225,000 from $130,000.

And the measure increases death benefits to $500,000 from $300,000.

The bill also requires benefits to be increased based on changes in the state’s average weekly wage, starting in 2027.

The law also requires injured workers to provide clear and convincing evidence of the need for future medical treatment to rebut a presumption that the employer’s liability for medical ends when a worker reaches maximum medical improvement.

In addition, it requires use of the sixth edition of the American Medical Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment instead of the fourth.

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