Alaska's workers' comp tiebreaker doctors are almost all out of state, new list shows

The Alaska Workers' Compensation Division on Wednesday published its new list of doctors who settle medical disputes in injured workers' cases. Of the 52 providers on it, one has an Alaska address.

The exam comes into play when an injured worker's doctor and the employer's doctor disagree. The list takes effect Nov. 1, according to the division's bulletin. Forty of the providers are based in California. Five are in Hawaii, two in Washington and one each in Oregon, Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The one Alaska address belongs to a psychologist in Anchorage.

Workers' compensation fights often turn on medical reports. The state calls this exam a second independent medical evaluation. It generally must be done by a physician on the board's list, unless the listed physicians aren't impartial.

State rules have the board ask four Alaska professional groups to recommend providers: the Alaska Chiropractic Society, Alaska Dental Society, Alaska Optometric Association and Alaska State Medical Association. This year, the bulletin records no recommendations from any of them.

It's the fifth straight year none of the four recommended anyone. The last recommendations came in 2021, when the optometric association suggested four providers. The bulletins don't say why the groups haven't recommended others.

A panel of two attorneys who represent workers and two who represent employers, chosen by the state labor commissioner, votes on which physicians join or stay on the list.