The Affordable Care Act's impact on workers' compensation is going to take many forms. David DePaolo points out in his shared blog today some of the aspects as the ACA is close to launch. Whether the ACA is going to emasculates the workers' compensation system is yet unknown It is sure heading that way in the new less litigious and aging society.
One of the big questions I have had since the Affordable Care Act became law was how the workers' compensation underwriting market would react since it seemed that there would be a broadening in the class of health care workers coming into the scene. That question was given some evidence yesterday when ProAssurance, a writer of medical professional liability insurance based in Birmingham, Ala., announced a proposed acquisition of Pennsylvania-based workers' compensation writer Eastern Insurance Group for $205 million. Eastern offers workers’ compensation to employers with generally 1,000 employees or less that traditionally pay an average premium per policy of $21,956, according to filings with Securities & Exchange Commission. Also, Eastern concentrates on low- to middle-hazard classes of businesses, primarily in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Midwest regions. In 2012, it reported workers comp premiums written of $182.9 million. Among those employers Eastern counts as policy holders are small hospital systems, long-term care facilities, physician and dental practices and home health care providers.... |
