Workers' Compensation is Riding on the Road to Wellville with Obama Care

As Obama Care [The Affordable Care Act] launches, workers' compensation programs will start to undergo subtle changes   The innovation of wellness programs and new treatment protocols will eventually cause major shifts to the delivery of workplace medicine.

Workers' compensation's future, ironically, has actually been viewed primarily in a rearview mirror. The shift to break with old habits has been a major struggle. The inertia will give way to a creative future based on new technologies and socio-economic challenges.

In a recent article by The Honorable David B. Torrey, Judge of Workers' Compensation ["The Affordable Care Act and Effects on the Workers' Compensation System, (7 PAWCSNL 114 at 30, March 2013)], the significance of  Obama Care is reported.  Judge Torrey recognizes that even those with major pecuniary interests in the compensation business have been unable to halt the momentum of change.