The State of NJ has recently adopted an "electronic medical bill" process. N.J.S.A. 34:15-144, P.L 2016, c. 64. On October 16, 2017, Regulations were proposed to implement the Statute. Public Hearing will be held on Tuesday, November 14, 2017, 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 Noon. The deadline for written comments is December 15, 2017.
Showing posts with label regulations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label regulations. Show all posts
Monday, October 23, 2017
Friday, December 6, 2013
Genetic Tester to Stop Providing Data on Health Risks
Bowing to the Food and Drug Administration, the genetic testing service 23andMe said Thursday that it would stop providing consumers with health information while its test undergoes regulatory review.
The decision was in response to a warning letter sent by the agency two weeks ago saying that the genetic test was a medical device that requires approval.
“We remain firmly committed to fulfilling our long-term mission to help people everywhere have access to their own genetic data and have the ability to use that information to improve their lives,” Anne Wojcicki, the chief executive of 23andMe, said in a statement Thursday evening.
“Our goal is to work cooperatively with the F.D.A. to provide that opportunity in a way that clearly demonstrates the benefit to people and the validity of the science that underlies the test.”
The company will continue to take orders for new tests but will provide only ancestry information and raw data, without interpretations of the health implications. It said it might resume providing health data if it receives regulatory approval.
23andMe sought approval of certain of its tests in 2012 but did not provide information the F.D.A. required. After the company began advertising on television, the agency ordered it to stop marketing its test.
The company then halted advertising, apparently hoping that it could stop “marketing” but continue selling. But it appears that regulators did not buy that...
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Sunday, August 4, 2013
Saving Money, Poisoning Workers
This is a case for employers to act with moral responsibility to maintain a safe work environment, stronger regulations and changes in statutory provisions to make the workplace safer. This post was shared by Jordan Barab and comes from www.nytimes.com
The workers at Royale Comfort Seating in Taylorsville, N.C., had a simple but grueling job. For 10 hours at a stretch they spray-glued pieces of polyurethane foam into shapes that became the spongy filling of cushions sold to many top furniture brands. Unfortunately, the glue contained a dangerous chemical known as n-propyl bromide, or nPB, and the spray guns left a yellowish fog in the air that coated everything in sight. Exposure to the toxic fumes left some workers so dizzy at the end of the day that they walked as if drunk.
Worse yet, many developed long-term ailments. One worker can no longer stand or sit for more than 20 minutes without feeling excruciating pain in her spine and legs. Another lost control of his hands and could not put on clothes without help.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
The Devil is in the Details California Style
When Workers Compensation was adopted in the United States after the European model of a benefit system for injured workers in the early 1900's, it was supposed to be a simple remedial system, The unfolding California regulatory process is highlighting, yet again, that the system is in major trouble, and that the glimmer of hope, in the name of reform, to revived it from live-support, is lacking credibility.
The administrative system of Workers' Compensation was built upon simplicity, efficiency, as a social insurance system, It was a process encouraged by Industry to avoid litigation in the civil justice system. Giving up the right to a trial by a jury was a big trade off for Labor back in early 1900's. The adoption of the system, through its poster child, the tragic Triangle Shirt Waist Fire in New York City, was emblematic of the need for a practical system to make things work, and preserve justice in doing so.
The California reform effort of this summer, SB 863, was pushed through by some elite and self-serving lobbying groups, to try to "level the playing field" in a State where economic upheaval forced it to the verge of bankruptcy. As it edged closer to its own fiscal cliff, it was about to take an ailing workers compensation program with it.
Those who practice workers' compensation law in California have just gotten used to complexity. They spend enormous time and effort navigating a a maze of bureaucratic regulations that are generated each reform cycle in the name of simplicity and efficiency.
The administrative system of Workers' Compensation was built upon simplicity, efficiency, as a social insurance system, It was a process encouraged by Industry to avoid litigation in the civil justice system. Giving up the right to a trial by a jury was a big trade off for Labor back in early 1900's. The adoption of the system, through its poster child, the tragic Triangle Shirt Waist Fire in New York City, was emblematic of the need for a practical system to make things work, and preserve justice in doing so.
The California reform effort of this summer, SB 863, was pushed through by some elite and self-serving lobbying groups, to try to "level the playing field" in a State where economic upheaval forced it to the verge of bankruptcy. As it edged closer to its own fiscal cliff, it was about to take an ailing workers compensation program with it.
Those who practice workers' compensation law in California have just gotten used to complexity. They spend enormous time and effort navigating a a maze of bureaucratic regulations that are generated each reform cycle in the name of simplicity and efficiency.
In promulgating Utilization Review Standards noted commentator David DePaolo, points out, "The fear of course is that regulations will end up either ineffective or unduly burdensome thus mitigating potential savings due to excess complexity."
The equation offered by the Rules simply just doesn't add up. They add more costs, fees and "independent extra-judicial parties," without time restrictions, to what is supposed to be a free and speedy process. Outsourcing justice is just taking another step away from the civil justice system and due process rights embodied in our Constitution.
After all these emergency regulations are promulgated, the California Legislature will again visit the system, and a new wave of reform will need to be considered. The devil in the details of the regulations will need to be reviewed. The next legislative cycle is anxiously awaited. Hopefully it will allow the legislature to be open to the suggestions and ideas of all stakeholders and a creatively new system will be entertained to handle medical delivery in the workers' compensation process.
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Jon L.Gelman of Wayne NJ, is the author NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson).
More about California and workers' compensation
After all these emergency regulations are promulgated, the California Legislature will again visit the system, and a new wave of reform will need to be considered. The devil in the details of the regulations will need to be reviewed. The next legislative cycle is anxiously awaited. Hopefully it will allow the legislature to be open to the suggestions and ideas of all stakeholders and a creatively new system will be entertained to handle medical delivery in the workers' compensation process.
....
Jon L.Gelman of Wayne NJ, is the author NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson).
More about California and workers' compensation
Sep 13, 2012
Injured workers are voicing opposition to recently passed legislation in California to enact austerity measures to save the California workers' compensation from rising costs and expenses. The injured workers group is voicing ...
Aug 15, 2012
Rumors spread like wildfire this week as alleged secret back-room dealing continued in an effort to reform the failing California workers compensation system, yet again. The great trade-off of 2012 appears to be a major move ...
Sep 01, 2012
Tonight the California Legislature took an axe to its ailing workers' compensation system, as part of major election year austerity measures. Targeting both medical and legal costs of operating the program, at the ...
Jul 12, 2012
Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones today announced that a statewide joint task force in the fight against California's underground economy has netted contractors allegedly operating illegally, resulting in 104 enforcement ...
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Romney, Regulation & Risk of Cancer
"....Every free economy has regulation. At the same time regulation can become excessive, it can become out of date. And what's happened with some of the legislation that's been passed under President Obama's term is you've seen some of the regulation become excessive and it has hurt the economy." Mitt Romney, 1st Presidential Debate 2012
This challenge to a safer workplace is discussed in an Op-Ed article in the NY Times Today:
"The chemical industry is working frantically to suppress that scientific consensus — because it fears “public confusion.” Big Chem apparently worries that you might be confused if you learned that formaldehyde caused cancer of the nose and throat, and perhaps leukemia as well." Nicholas D. Kristof, The New York Times
Click here to read "The Cancer Lobby" (NY Times) 10/7/12
Click here to read "The Cancer Lobby" (NY Times) 10/7/12
More Bout "Carcinogens"
May 16, 2009
IARC To Review Human Carcinogens-metals, arsenic, dusts & fibers (asbestos). The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has met to reassessthe carcinogenicity of metals, arsenic, dusts, and fibres previously...
Sep 12, 2012
Cell phones continue to have an increased use in the workplace and may join the ranks of other workplace carcinogens shortly. The World Health Organization has identified cell phones as a potential cause of glioma, a brain ...
Jun 11, 2011
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced today that eight substances have been added to its Report on Carcinogens, a science-based document that identifies chemicals and biological agents that may ...
Sep 30, 2011
"The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) intends to review its approach to classifying carcinogens and establishing recommended exposure...
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For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered work related accident and injuries.
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