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Case Study : Policy Maker Interview Essay

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Policy Maker Interview
1. Who was the policy maker and what level of authority does he/she have in setting policy or regulations that impacts health, healthcare or providers?
Diana Alvarez, Senior Occupational Health Manager, is a registered nurse and certified case manager. D. Alvarez received a governor appointment in 2011, with state senate approval, to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC) Medical Fee Advisory Board. D. Alvarez, an employer representative, is one of nine members on the IWCC Medical Fee Advisory Board that equally represents employees, employers, and medical providers (D. Alvarez, personal communication, December 2, 2016). The board’s purpose is to advise the governor on legislation of medical service fees for medical provider services and accessibility to medical treatment for injured workers (Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, 2016). In 2011, D. Alvarez participated in the IWCC legislation in reducing the Illinois’ workers’ compensation medical fees by 30% to lessen employer costs to prevent businesses leaving the state (Smith, 2016). According to D. Alvarez (personal communication, December 2, 2016), the representatives of the medical providers on the IWCC Medical Fee Advisory Board stated that this would impact access to medical care because the occupational health doctors’ service fees were decreased to the point that physician’s would choose not to treat injured employees under workers’ compensation insurance. She did not

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