My friend, and cycling inspiration, who keeps me trying to think I can enter the Tour de France while under the influence of Starbucks coffee, David DePaolo, points out that the "fusion" may be coming slowly through legislation of unintended consequences in California.
"The concept of universal care, 24 hour care, single stop shop, etc. has been floating for a couple of decades now with very little progress.David, an expert in analyzing what's around the curve, sees the next wave of change coming to workers' compensation. For so many reasons, including the expansion/reimbursement integration of the Medicare program, the writing is on the wall on this one.
"But the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the signing of HB 1 back in February 2009, and other Federal health related laws and regulations including ERISA, have accelerated the fusion of workers' compensation medicine and general health medicine. Outsourcing MPN [Medical Provider Networks] oversight to a health care related agency is just another step towards this outcome.
Every time the lobbyists think that have eliminated the imminent threat of Federal intrusion, ie. Enactment of The SMART Act, the reality of which is that the regulations will eat up the statute, and also their lunch. I plan to write more on The SMART Act in the coming weeks. Maybe that wasn't so smart after all for the cottage industries that supported it.
Prototypes of universal care have been offered in the past. They have not gone away. Variations continue to serve as models for efficient medical delivery. The "Libby Care" program that exists in the ACA may provide the basis, if expanded an envisioned, to encompass all Superfund communities and possibly all geographical locations where a "public health emergency" can be deemed to exists, ie. all buildings where asbestos is in place.
California always is the advance wave of change and it is apparent that this iteration is yet another step toward universal health care.
Click here to read the complete article: Medical Networks and Indemnity Caps
Read more about "universal care" and workers' compensation
Mar 05, 2011
Vermont Universal Health Care to Embrace Workers Compensation. A two-stage bill in Vermont is geared to establishing a single-payer medical health care system that would include medical for workers' compensation ...
Jul 05, 2012
Those efforts demonstrate a commitment to bring the nation ever closer to a universal care medical program incorporating the entire patchwork of workers' compensation medical delivery systems. The US Supreme Court has ...
Nov 09, 2012
The recent health care reform legislation provided for the Libby Care which will provide universal medical care for victims of asbestos related disease. The plan is a pilot program for occupational disease medical care fully .
Jun 14, 2012
Nationally, advocates to improve the delivery of medical benefits to injured workers have urged federalization of the medical delivery system into a single payer approach through universal health care. ... Compensation Claim ...
