For an injury occurring on or after July 1, 1988, and if required under AS 23.30.041, the administrator shall assign a rehabilitation specialist as follows:

1. (1) if the employee lives in this state, the administrator shall assign the first rehabilitation specialist on the list of rehabilitation specialists in this state; if there is no rehabilitation specialist on the list of rehabilitation specialists in this state, or if refusals under AS 23.30.041(g) eliminate all the rehabilitation specialists on the list of rehabilitation specialists in this state, the administrator shall assign a specialist from the list of rehabilitation specialists in other states or countries;
2. (2) if the employee lives in another state or country, the administrator shall assign the first rehabilitation specialist on the list of rehabilitation specialists in other states or countries from the state or country where the employee lives; if a rehabilitation specialist is not available in the state or country where the employee lives, the administrator may assign any rehabilitation specialist;
3. (3) for an injury occurring on or after January 1, 2025, and if required under AS 23.30.043(b), the rehabilitation specialist must be selected from the list maintained under AS 23.30.041(b)(6);
4. (4) except as otherwise provided in this section, once a rehabilitation specialist receives an assignment that results in rehabilitation fees, the administrator may not make another assignment to that rehabilitation specialist until assignments have been made to all other rehabilitation specialists listed from the same state;
5. (5) a reassignment of an employee to a rehabilitation specialist under 8 AAC 45.530 or 8 AAC 45.540 may not be made to a rehabilitation specialist in the same or an affiliated firm.

(Eff. 7/1/88, Register 107; am 7/20/97, Register 143; am 3/13/2004, Register 169; am 4/16/2010, Register 194; am 3/23/2025, Register 253)

Authority: AS 23.30.005, AS 23.30.041, AS 23.30.043