Workers' Compensation

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Workers' Compensation Benefits, Employer Costs Rise with Economic Recovery

NASI issued the following press release reflecting that workers' compensation costs are continuing to soar on the back of ever increasing medical expenses. The real question that remains unanswered is whether the Affordable Care Care will rein in costs and capture the workers' compensation delivery system in the process. Increased costs are good for workers' compensation carriers as they increase premiums to reflects those numbers. Looking down the road, a single Universal Medical Benefit program may present the only true alternative to achieve the cost savings employers need and want. Today's post was shared by WCBlog and comes from www.nasi.org

After declining in the wake of the recession, workers’ compensation benefits paid to injured workers and costs borne by employers increased in 2011 as the U.S. economy continued to recover, according to a new report by the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI).

Total benefits rose by 3.5 percent to $60.2 billion. The benefits include a 4.5 percent rise in medical care spending to $29.9 billion and a 2.6 percent rise in wage replacement benefits to $30.3 billion. Total costs to employers rose by 7.1 percent to $77.1 billion.

"Workers’ compensation often grows with the growth in employment and earnings,” said Marjorie Baldwin, chair of NASI’s Workers’ Compensation Data Panel and Professor of Economics in the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. When benefits and costs are measured relative to total covered wages, then benefits remained unchanged, and costs to employers rose very modestly (to $1.27 per $100 of wages) after declining in the previous five years.

Workers’ Compensation Benefits, Coverage, and Costs, 2011

Covered workers (in thousands)
Covered wages (in billions)
Workers' compensation benefits (in billions)

Cash benefits	$30.3	2.6%
Employer costs (in billions)	$77.1	7.1%
Amounts per $100 of covered wages


Cash payments to workers

Source: National...

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Changes to California Insurance Don’t Help

Today's post was shared by WCBlog and comes from www.lawyersandsettlements.com

By Gordon Gibb

Fresno, CA:

A California woman whose life has been described as “a living hell” blames the insurance underwriter, in association with her former employer, for leaving her high and dry with
denied disability insurance for the past eight years. Injured on the job in 2003, she was only paid benefits for two years. In spite of substantial evidence as to the woman’s disability, the insurer stopped payments, resulting in job loss and homelessness.

Guadalupe Ortega even had her children taken away from her, according to The Fresno Bee (8/6/13).

Ortega’s denied ERISA disability story is heart-wrenching. The one-time employee of Lyons Magnus of Fresno was injured on the job about 10 years ago, suffering injuries to her shoulder, neck and back. Her employer acknowledged that Ortega’s injuries were work-related and occurred on the job. Doctors having examined Ortega concur that the woman is 70 percent disabled.

Calif. judge denies Sherwin Williams motion in lead paint trial

Today's post was shared by Legal Newsline and comes from legalnewsline.com

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) — A California judge denied paint maker Sherwin Williams’ motion for summary judgment at the opening of trial Monday in Santa Clara County Superior Court.

Kleinberg

Judge James Kleinberg’s ruling came before the defense started its second day of arguments. The judge also kept defendant ARCO’s summary judgment motion under submission.

Ten cities and counties in California — including Los Angeles County and the cities of San Diego and San Francisco — filed The People of California v. Atlantic Richfield Company et al., which seeks the companies and parent companies of one-time lead-based paint makers pay for an abatement program — eliminating lead paint from homes in their jurisdictions — to protect public health.

Plaintiffs claim the lead paint is a public nuisance. Defendants include The Sherwin-Williams Company, ConAgra Grocery Products, DuPont and Atlantic Richfield Company.

During Monday’s morning session, defense attorney Don Scott called to the stand pediatrician and historian Dr. Peter English who testified that what is known about child lead exposure, pathways into the body, toxicity levels and how public health officials have communicated their knowledge has changed radically over the past century.

Before court adjourned for a lunch break, the plaintiff’s attorney began his cross examination of English.

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Pa., N.J. Insurers Gearing Up For Obamacare Business

Today's post was shared by Kaiser Health News and comes from capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org

This story was produced in partnership with

With new federal rules and mandates, you’d think that health insurers would be beating the loudest drum in the repeal-the-Affordable Care Act band.

But they’re not, and there are a couple of reasons why.

The first is pretty obvious. Millions of uninsured people will be flooding the online exchanges when they open nationwide on Oct. 1, presenting companies with a tremendous opportunity to build their roles and revenues.

But that may not be the only reason. Even insured workers may soon be allowed to pick plans over online marketplaces, upending the traditional model of employers knowing best.

In any event, “the direct-to-consumer health insurance market is growing,” says Joel Cantor, a professor of health policy at Rutgers University. “Under the Affordable Care Act, 15 to 16 million people will be in that market for health insurance in the next year or so. That is a significant increase.”

Until the ACA was passed in 2010, health insurance was pretty much a business-to-business transaction. Insurers sold plans to employers acting as proxies for their employees. Once the ACA became law, insurers started refocusing their marketing strategies on consumers.

Many insurers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are preparing to launch marketing efforts to educate consumers. Most of New Jersey’s large insurers, including Aetna, Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and AmeriHealth, will be in the state’s...

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Senate fails to revive workers' comp bill for first responders

The NJ Senate has been unable change the burden of proof required for First Responders to prove compensability. While some jurisdictions have multiple "presumptions of compensability" statutorily enacted, NJ has consistently maintained a minimal number. Today's post was shared by WCBlog and comes from www.nj.com

State Senate Democrats have failed to override Gov. Chris Christie's recent veto of a bill that would have made it easier for emergency first responders to obtain workers' compensation coverage when they get injured or contract a disease on the job during a terrorist attack or another catastrophic event.

The bill would have required the employer to challenge any work-related injuries and illness, shifting the burden away from nurses, firefighters, police officers, rescue squad members and other first responders who have to prove how and when they were hurt or sickened under the current system.

Wages and medical benefits would be paid if "any death or disability, including post traumatic stress disorder, arises from the physical or psychological impact of stress or injury experienced by the public safety worker during response to a terrorist attack, epidemic or other catastrophic emergency," according to the bill sponsored by Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-Middlesex).
Christie said while the state is grateful for the heroic work of its first responders, New Jersey can't afford this legislation.

Move Over, Richard Kiley. Here’s Why We Want to Combine Public Health Data with Health Care Data

Is it time to publicly merge workplace injury data with with health care delivery and re-engineer the system for greater efficiency. Prevention versus economic fiduciary interests of corporate American maybe be challenge. The economic savings in the long run may provide as major cost savings for workers' compensation insurance companies. Today's post was shared by RWJF PublicHealth and comes from www.rwjf.org

On reflection, we think this goal isn’t so quixotic. We’ve been thinking more and more about bridging the worlds of health care delivery and public health—how those two systems relate to each other and can reinforce each other in ways that improve health outcomes for populations and for individuals. And we see harnessing data as part of the path to that goal.

Currently, we’re seeing an explosion of data production from all sectors in health and health care and an increasing interest in harnessing that data for all sorts of purposes. The recent Health Datapalooza conference—which is hosted by another collaborator on this News Challenge, the Health Data Consortium—saw 2200 people gather to explore health and health care data and its uses.

Parents and Educators Can Keep Young Workers Safe

Child labor continues in US and the safety issues are now a focus of OSHA's increased concern. Today's post was shared by US Dept. of Labor and comes from www.osha.gov

As parents and educators, you play an important role. Here is vital information you need to know.

Employers must provide a safe and healthful workplace and comply with OSHA standards to prevent injuries and illnesses. Employers must train new workers on job hazards and safe work practices in a language they understand. Employers must also pay for most types of required safety gear.
Child labor laws restrict the types of jobs and the hours that youth under age 18 can work. They also prohibit workers under age 18 from using certain equipment. Learn about the federal and state child labor laws that apply to young workers.
States may develop and operate their own job safety and health programs with federal OSHA's approval and monitoring. There are currently 22 states and jurisdictions operating complete state plans (covering both the private sector and state and local government employees) and five plans that cover public employees only. To learn if your state has its own job safety and health program, see State Occupational Safety and Health Plans.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the agency of the Department of Labor (DOL) that protects workers from dangers on the job that can cause injuries or illnesses. OSHA is here to help you. Call us on our toll-free number: 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) or TTY 1-877-889-5627 to get answers to your questions, or to ask OSHA to inspect your workplace if you think there is a serious hazard. You can also submit...

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Copyright

Wednesday, August 21, 2013