In this guide10 sections
- Key takeaways
- What Labor Code §4600 says
- Who chooses your doctor
- Predesignating your personal doctor
- How treatment gets approved
- Travel costs and lost time for exams
- A hypothetical example
- If your treatment is denied, delayed or cut off
- Frequently asked questions
- Talk to a California workers’ comp lawyer
Labor Code §4600 is the core medical benefit in California workers’ comp. If you are hurt on the job, your employer must provide the medical care reasonably required to cure or relieve the effects of the injury, paid for by the employer or its insurer, including doctor visits, surgery, therapy, medication and equipment. If the employer neglects or refuses to provide reasonable care, it can be liable for the reasonable cost of care you get on your own.
Key takeaways
- Section 4600(a) covers medical, surgical, chiropractic, acupuncture, clinical social worker and hospital treatment, plus medicines, supplies and devices such as crutches and prosthetics.
- “Reasonably required” treatment is care that follows the state’s Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule (MTUS), and insurers review requests through utilization review.
- If your employer has a Medical Provider Network (MPN), you generally treat inside it. If not, you can switch to a doctor of your choice 30 days after reporting the injury.
- You may treat with your own personal doctor only if you predesignated that doctor in writing before the injury and meet the other requirements.
- For medical-legal and other required exams, you are owed travel costs and a day of temporary disability for each day of wages lost. The 2026 mileage rate is 76 cents a mile for travel on or after July 1, 2026.
What Labor Code §4600 says
Section 4600(a) requires the employer to provide treatment “reasonably required to cure or relieve” the injured worker from the effects of the injury. Under §4600(b), treatment is reasonably required when it is based on the guidelines adopted under Labor Code §5307.27, known as the Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule.
Covered care generally includes:
- Doctor and specialist visits, including chiropractic and acupuncture
- Hospital care and surgery
- Physical therapy and other rehabilitation
- Psychological treatment, where it is part of the injury
- Prescription medication, medical supplies and devices such as braces, crutches, orthotics and prosthetics
- Home health care, when prescribed by a physician and reasonably required (§4600(h))
Once you file a claim form, your employer must authorize treatment within one working day and keep providing it, up to $10,000, until the claim is accepted or denied (Labor Code §5402(c)).
Who chooses your doctor
| Your situation | Who you treat with |
|---|---|
| Employer has a valid MPN | Doctors inside the MPN. You can generally change doctors within the network. |
| No MPN | The employer’s chosen doctor for the first 30 days after you report the injury, then a doctor of your choice within a reasonable area (§4600(c)) |
| You properly predesignated a personal physician | Your predesignated doctor from the start (§4600(d)) |
Most larger employers use an MPN. Our guides explain how MPNs work and how to change doctors inside the MPN.
Predesignating your personal doctor
Section 4600(d) lets you treat with your own doctor from day one, but only if all of these are true:
- You told your employer in writing, before the injury, that you have a personal physician.
- On the date of injury, you had non-occupational group health coverage of a qualifying type.
- The doctor is your regular physician and surgeon (an MD or DO), has previously directed your medical treatment and keeps your medical records. A qualifying integrated multispecialty medical group can also be predesignated.
- The doctor agreed, before the injury, to be predesignated.
Even with predesignation, the insurer may require prior authorization for nonemergency treatment and may use utilization review.
How treatment gets approved
Your treating doctor asks for most treatment with a Request for Authorization. The insurer then reviews it through utilization review under Labor Code §4610, and a denial or modification can be challenged through Independent Medical Review. For injuries on or after January 1, 2018, much of the MTUS-consistent care in the first 30 days is authorized without prior review.
Travel costs and lost time for exams
When your employer, the insurer, the Administrative Director, the Appeals Board or a workers’ comp judge requires you to attend an exam, §4600(e) entitles you to reasonable transportation, meals and lodging, plus one day of temporary disability for each day of wages lost. Payment is due when you receive notice of the exam.
The Division of Workers’ Compensation sets the mileage rate to match the IRS business rate. For 2026, it is 72.5 cents per mile for travel through June 30 and 76 cents per mile for travel on or after July 1, 2026. See our guide to mileage reimbursement.
If you don’t speak or understand English well, you are entitled to a qualified interpreter at employer-requested exams (§4600(f)), and you may request one for medical treatment appointments (§4600(g)).
A hypothetical example
Jorge, a landscaper, cuts his hand on a trimmer. His employer has no MPN and sends him to an occupational clinic. After a month of slow progress, Jorge switches to a hand specialist he chooses, which §4600(c) allows 30 days after he reported the injury. When the specialist requests surgery, the insurer sends the request to utilization review. Jorge keeps a log of every visit and the miles he drives so he can claim reimbursement.
If your treatment is denied, delayed or cut off
- Get the denial in writing. UR denials come with deadlines, including 30 days to request IMR.
- Keep paying attention to the MPN rules. Treating outside a valid MPN without a right to do so can mean the insurer won’t pay.
- Save receipts. If the employer neglected or refused reasonable care and you paid for it yourself, you may be able to recover the reasonable cost.
- Think before settling. A compromise and release generally ends the insurer’s duty to pay for future treatment unless the agreement says otherwise.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay anything for workers’ comp treatment?
Generally no. Treatment reasonably required for an accepted work injury is paid by the employer or its insurer. If you get a bill, send it to the claims adjuster and keep a copy.
Can I see my own doctor?
Only if you predesignated that doctor in writing before the injury and meet the other §4600(d) requirements. Otherwise, you treat within the MPN or, if there is no MPN, may switch to a doctor of your choice after 30 days.
Does workers’ comp pay for mental health treatment?
It can, when the treatment is reasonably required because of a work injury, including psychiatric injuries that meet the legal standards for compensation.
Am I paid for time spent at medical exams?
For exams your employer, the insurer or the WCAB requires, you are owed one day of temporary disability for each day of wages lost, plus reasonable travel costs.
How long does workers’ comp medical care last?
As long as treatment is reasonably required for the injury, subject to your case’s outcome. How you settle matters, since some settlements close future medical care.
Talk to a California workers’ comp lawyer
Employees First Labor Law represents workers exclusively, including injured workers whose medical care has been delayed or denied. We offer free virtual consultations to review your treatment and your options. Contact us online or call (310) 853-3461.
This article is general information about California law as of 2026, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
