What the panel ordered
The WCAB granted defendant's petition for reconsideration, rescinded the WCJ's Findings of Fact and Order, and returned the matter to the WCJ for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.
Defendant sought reconsideration of the Findings of Fact and Order issued by the WCJ on March 10, 2022, which found defendant's MPN invalid and granted applicant control over her medical treatment; the WCAB granted reconsideration, rescinded the F&O, and returned the matter to the WCJ for further proceedings.
What was disputed, and how it came out
Each issue the panel decided, with the reasoning it gave. An outcome is what this panel did on this record — not a rule, and not a prediction.
The WCAB found it lacked jurisdiction to declare the MPN invalid because the administrative director had approved it and no petition to suspend or revoke the MPN approval was filed; thus, the issue of MPN validity was not properly before the Board.
From the decision · page 3(4) Approval of a plan may be denied, revoked, or suspended if the medical provider network fails to meet the requirements of this article. Any person contending that a medical provider network is not validly constituted may petition the administrative director to suspend or revoke the approval of the medical provider network.... Unless suspended or revoked by the administrative director, the administrative director's approval of a medical provider network shall be binding on all persons and all courts. A determination of the administrative director may be reviewed only by an appeal of the determination of the administrative director filed as an original proceeding before the reconsideration unit of the workers' compensation appeals board on the same grounds and within the same time limits after issuance of the determination as would be applicable to a petition for reconsideration of a decision of a workers' compensation administrative law judge.... (Lab. Code, § 4616, emphasis added.)2