Leave it to the California Division of Workers’ Compensation to fumble a relatively straightforward (but essential) task, over and over and over. 

Catherine Montgomery

The state agency that makes an art form of ineptitude again bungled the quarterly update of the state’s online Medical Provider Network list, leaving it completely blank for several days.

This has happened repeatedly over the last several months.

In theory, providers can check the MPN list to determine whether they’re eligible to treat injured workers whose employer or insurer restricts them to MPN providers. However, the MPN list is a mess, listing thousands of mostly invalid MPNs that are often impossible to associate with any employer or insurer. 

Regardless, from Thursday through Monday, the MPN list was out of commission. 

California citizens pay for a functioning DWC. It pays someone to ensure that providers have a way to determine MPN applicability. At this point, every taxpayer in the state should demand a refund.

MPNs are MIA again

For over four days, the searchable list that populates the MPN page was gone, leaving only a “No data available in table” message where providers can usually find MPN details. 

The MPN files in CSV, XML and other formats remained downloadable, but they also contained no data.

Of course, the MPN list is always problematic, even when it’s functioning. 

It includes thousands of MPNs, most of which have a "terminated," "suspended" or otherwise defunct status. The names of these MPNs often have no connection to the employer or insurer, making it a challenge to figure out which, if any, apply. 

Some of the entries in the MPN list include links to web portals and pages for providers to confirm MPN participation. But many of these links lead nowhere, to irrelevant pages or un-navigable sites. 

Worse, the DWC requires MPNs to update their provider rosters only four times yearly, so the information may be outdated.

In sum, at any time of year, providers either have o MPN list or an inadequate, barely functioning MPN list.

A long history of fails

Four of the last six times the DWC has attempted a quarterly update to the MPN list, the list has vanished, sometimes for weeks. This occurred in July 2024, October 2024, January 2025 and October 2025.

For this glitch to occur once or twice would be embarrassing. For it to occur with such regularity is beyond embarrassing, but not unexpected for a DWC that repeatedly drops the ball on even its most basic duties.

Injured workers deserve a system that serves them effectively. Providers deserve the necessary logistical support from the state to make that happen. California taxpayers deserve a better return on their investment than they’re getting from this bumbling regulatory agency.

Catherine Montgomery is the co-founder and CEO of daisyBill, a provider of workers' comp end-to-end revenue cycle management software. This post appears with permission.