Sec. 1. 39-A MRSA §222, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 885, Pt. A, §8 and affected by §§9 to 11, is amended to read:

1. No delay of benefits. If an employee is due benefits from an employer or from a 3rd-party insurer under an insured disability plan or insured medical payments plan because of a personal injury or disease, the employer or 3rd-party insurer may not delay or refuse payment of those benefits because the employee filed a workers' compensation claim based on the same personal injury or disease.

SUMMARY

Current law prohibits employers from delaying or refusing payment of disability benefits due an employee because the employee filed a workers' compensation claim based on the same injury or disease. This bill extends that prohibition to 3rd- party insurers.