- Workers compensation pioneer Dr. Gary Franklin sounds opioid alarm
Years before risk managers learned that opioid prescriptions would become a workers compensation liability, Dr. Gary Franklin was reviewing death certificates to document that large doses of the narcotics were killing injured workers.
- Insurers unconvinced that Calif. law reforms will reduce workers comp costs
DANA POINT, Calif. — While recent workers compensation reforms in California aim to reduce costs for employers, insurers and claims handlers say they’re concerned the new law won’t do much to ease rising expenses.
- Conference draws 850 to Dana Point
DANA POINT, Calif. — The California Workers Compensation & Risk Conference, held Sept. 19-21 in Dana Point, Calif., drew more than 850 attendees from California and around the country.
- California workers compensation reforms will cut costs by $300M annually: Fitch
California’s latest workers compensation reforms are expected to cut the state’s comp costs by about $300 million, or 1.4%, annually, Fitch Ratings Ltd. said Thursday.
- Medicare set-asides getting faster approvals with new contractors
DANA POINT, Calif.
- California’s workers comp reforms may not reduce system costs for payers: Panel
DANA POINT, Calif. — A panel of insurers and workers compensation claims handlers said Wednesday that they don’t expect California’s recent workers comp reforms to reduce system costs for payers in the state.
Workers Compensation Press Updates
- California workers comp reform measure signed into law
California Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed workers compensation reform legislation into law on Tuesday, saying the law will reverse a four-year trend of rate increases.
Workers Compensation Press Updates
- Tracking true cost of lost productivity remains a challenge
Poor worker health and related productivity losses cost U.S. employers $576 billion annually, including workers compensation, disability and group health program expenses, according to research released last week.
Workers Compensation Press Updates
- Untaxed tips must be counted toward bartender’s comp benefit: Nev. high court
Determining the amount of workers compensation benefits owed to an injured bartender must include the untaxed tips he received and reported to his employer, Nevada’s Supreme Court has ruled.
- OFF BEAT: MMA fighter works out deal on workers comp fraud charges
A Los Angeles firefighter who found himself in hot water when he was caught pursuing a career as a mixed martial arts fighter while on disability leave from his fire department job has ended his battle with prosecutors who had charged him with insurance…
- OFF BEAT: Daughter collects deceased dad’s workers comp payments for 22 years
The state of Hawaii for 22 years paid workers compensation benefits to a dead man amounting to nearly $400,000.
- Poor health of employees can drag down productivity: Integrated Benefits Institute
Workers’ poor health and its drag on productivity costs U.S. employers $576 billion annually, according to an estimate released Wednesday by the San Francisco-based Integrated Benefits Institute.
Workers Compensation Press Updates
- Worker who tested positive for cocaine use in injury probe entitled to back pay, fees: Court
An employee fired after testing positive for cocaine use in a workplace injury investigation is entitled to back pay and attorney fees because her carpal tunnel injury was not an accident, the Iowa Court of Appeals ruled.
- Workers comp patients have fewer illicit drugs in systems: Analysis
Workers compensation patients have illicit drugs in their systems less frequently than patients whose care is paid for by other medical delivery systems, according to a study by a drug monitoring company.
Workers Compensation Press Updates
- Seriously injured stripper not entitled to workers comp benefits: S.C. appeals court
A stripper seriously injured by a stray bullet fired during an altercation in the club where she was working is not entitled to workers compensation benefits because she was not an employee, South Carolina’s Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
Workers Compensation Press Updates
- Treatment guidelines help reduce amount of services used for low back injuries: WRCI
Medical treatment guidelines can help reduce the amount of medical services used for lower back injuries, but produce mixed results for helping to treat other types of injuries, according to the Workers Compensation Research Institute.
- N.J. comptroller’s report warns of ‘undisclosed revenue-share agreements’ by TPAs
Third-party administrators may be generating revenue through undisclosed “side agreements” that drive up public employers’ workers compensation costs, a report by the New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller warned recently.
- California lawmakers approve workers compensation reform package
California lawmakers approved a massive workers compensation reform package Friday that advocates say will boost benefits for injured workers while helping California employers to cope with rising comp rates for 2013.
Workers Compensation Press Updates
- DMEC conference looks at ways to improve disease management
DENVER — Employers failing to gain desired results from disease management and wellness programs might consider a broader-than-usual array of issues such as managers’ treatment of workers.
- Target deploys clinical case management
DENVER — A successful pilot program involving tens of thousands of employees and a control group proved to retailer Target Corp. that clinical case management efforts could significantly reduce short-term disability durations.
- DMEC draws 603
DENVER — A record 603 people attended the Disability Management Employer Coalition’s annual conference held Aug. 12-15 in Denver.
Workers Compensation Press Updates
- Texas court rejects retaliation claim by injured worker
Companies that opt out of Texas’ workers compensation system cannot be sued for retaliation under the state’s workers comp law, a Texas appellate court has ruled.
- 18.8% workers comp rate hike for Massachusetts rejected
Massachusetts’ insurance commissioner has rejected a request to increase workers compensation rates by 18.8%.
- Passage of California workers comp reform bill could lead to reduced rates
The California State Compensation Insurance Fund says it plans to seek a 5% to 7% reduction in its workers compensation rates if California legislators pass a workers comp reform bill this week.
- Claims that include opioid prescription more likely to become catastrophic: Report
Workers compensation claims that include prescriptions for certain opioid painkillers are nearly four times more likely to develop into catastrophic claims, according to a recent report in the Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine.
Workers Compensation Press Updates
- Enstar to buy workers comp insurer SeaBright in $252 million deal
Bermuda-based Enstar Group Ltd. says it will acquire Seattle-based workers compensation insurer SeaBright Holdings Inc. in a $252 million deal.
- OFF BEAT: Often minor injuries add up to big workplace claims
A British county council paid nearly $8,700 in compensation to an employee who alleged that a spinal injury resulted from wearing a too-tight uniform, according to a report.
- Calif. workers compensation reform bill could increase costs by $300 million: Report
A workers compensation reform bill introduced in the California Senate last week would result in a $300 million increase in comp costs for insurers and employers by 2014, according to analysis by the California Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating…
- Injured worker entitled to benefits for related mental illness: Court
A surgical assistant disabled from a compensable back injury is also entitled to workers compensation benefits for a related mental illness, the Tennessee Supreme Court Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel ruled Thursday.
