Cite as: 526 U. S. 40 (1999)
Opinion of the Court
insures both public and private employers, will be required to pay for all medical treatment (reasonable and necessary or not) within 30 days, while private insurers will be able to defer payment for disputed treatment pending utilization review.12 Although we denied the petitions for certiorari filed by the school district, 525 U. S. 824 (1998), and the various state officials, 525 U. S. 824 (1998), we granted both questions presented in the petition filed by the private insurance companies. The second question therein states:
"Whether the Due Process Clause requires workers' compensation insurers to pay disputed medical bills prior to a determination that the medical treatment was reasonable and necessary." Pet. for Cert. (i).
This question has been briefed and argued, it is an important one, and it is squarely presented for review. We thus proceed to address it.
The first inquiry in every due process challenge is whether the plaintiff has been deprived of a protected interest in "property" or "liberty." See U. S. Const., Amdt. 14 ("nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law"); Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U. S. 319, 332 (1976). Only after finding the deprivation of a protected interest do we look to see if the State's procedures comport with due process. Ibid.
Here, respondents contend that Pennsylvania's workers' compensation law confers upon them a protected property interest in workers' compensation medical benefits. Under state law, respondents assert, once an employer's liability is established for a particular work-related injury, the em-12 SWIF, like all insurers and self-insured employers, is entitled to reimbursement from the state supersedeas fund for treatment later determined to be unreasonable or unnecessary. See n. 2, supra. Because this fund is maintained through assessments on all insurers, the Court of Appeals' ruling, if left undisturbed, would likely cause distinct injury to private insurers.
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