The Voice of Change in the Medical Care Debate

The Workers' Compensation industry  appears to lack a meaningful voice in the US health care legislative debate. As the interested parties are being tapped by a coalition of Senate leadership for support, the fractionalized workers' compensation industry remains on the sidelines waiting for the opportunity to be asked to dance at the party.

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation reports that Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass) and a core group of other Senators, including Republicans, have formed a coalition to craft health care legislation. The legislation will be introduced before the August recess.

Based on a report from CongressDaily, it appears that the Senators are forming a coalition of strategic partners  with a variety of economic positions. The target is the introduction of a single bipartisan health care bill. 

This is consistent with reports appearing in The Hill which reflect that a conciliatory approach is being followed by the Obama Administration and the legislative leadership. This creates a very uneasy position for the traditional Republican leadership and the traditional lobbying groups.

The workers' compensation industry now consists of a broad and fractionalized group of stakeholders. They seek  individual economic survival in the current frantic and fearful economy. Their adverse interests have been a huge factor in the expansion of the administrative process and increasing stagnation within the present system. 

As the individual stakeholders find that their interests are being represented individually in a new and non-traditional setting, the need for their economic survival will over power the existing organizational lobbying effort. That lobbying effort was very successful in past decades to defeat legislative initiatives for a universal health care system.

Should this new legislative strategy advance and succeed, the voices of the past will be silenced. The transformation process has already commenced. Public opinion surveys report a majority of Americans want change. It is that voice that will govern the legislative process. This occurred in the  non-partisan outrage over AIG bonuses.  In the end, the process will be successful, for after all, we are a county of " The People,"and it  is their voice that will be the voice of change.

Building A Workers’ Compensation System That Works

State workers’ compensation systems are beginning to suffer from the impact of the national economic downturn. Economically induced factors are compounding the underlying issues that previously generated a growing level of critical stagnation. The combination of this dynamic now threatens the very core of the workers' compensation system and endangers its extinction.

Prior to the accelerated national economic downturn, the patchwork of State and Federal compensation programs were besieged by an assault of complex legal issues emerging during the last decade. These included: the reimbursement of collateral medical source issues, ie. CMS and MSP (Medicare Secondary Payer Act) ; greater difficulty in litigating complex scientific issues; a costly and inefficient medical benefits delivery system and a transition of “fault” into the administrative system.

As the national economy began to fail there was a surge of new administrative issues challenging the programs. These include: higher unemployment; self-imposed limitations on administrative cost by the States; and the increase of potential insolvency by the insurance industry. The filing of claims in NJ over the first 3 weeks of 2009 have already reflected a 27.5% decrease which is projected over the last reported year, 2007. Judicial salaries have been frozen and new State employees have been taken out of the State pension system. State budgetary freezes have caused a reduction of the hiring of critically needed new personnel such as the appointment of Deputy Attorney Generals to represent State funds, ie. Second Injury Funds. Hearing calendars have been reduced because of lack of personnel to appear.

Banking and investment house scandals continue. Insurance carriers have been threatened by insolvency including the giant AIG which has continued to require the infusion of “bail out” capital to float. Liberty Mutual has announced the plan to sell certain of its markets including the Wausau line of business.

As President Barack Obama reported, “The economic news has not been good.” The hope of a new beginning that prevailed at the recent inauguration signals creative opportunities for the reinvented and modernization of the entire workers’ compensation system. The implementation of technology and video conferencing initiated in Social Security hearings may be required to be utilized to lower expenses and increase efficiency. It is cheaper for the government to move electronic images rather than personnel. Technology advanced hearing systems and claims processing will be required to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Instead of hiring more personnel and establishing more offices, technologically advanced centralized hearing centers will be utilized. These will result in a lower carbon footprint and lower administrative costs.

Workers’ Compensation is not only an economic issue, it is also a human issue. Medical delivery and its associated costs remain problematic in the present workers’ compensation system. A single payer national medical insurance system program is a viable solution. Immediate delivery of medical benefits to injured workers will result in an administrative cost saving and allow for the introduction of medical monitoring, prevention programs and research grants to treat and cure industrial disease. The new system will require greater transparency and accountability.

The failing national economy is a catalyst for change. The ailing workers’ compensation program must obtain the course of treatment that it requires to rebound into a healthy and robust system once again.

Intentional Fraud

All fraud is not actionable in workers' compensation. It is similar to discrimination action actions under the workers' compensation act. There is much talk, but few claims succeed, since they are based upon the element of intent.

This case caught my eye because of David DePaolo's recent blog post highlighting the recent, as David calls it, "Truly Imaginative" behavior of an individual playing two sides of the plot line.

The fraud issue struck a note for me as I have been reviewing cases for an upcoming seminar on workers' compensation issues. The decision of Bellino v Verizon, 2014 WL 10301786 (NJ App Div 2014) is a factual situation that seem to draw the ire of many insurance companies and employers. The injured worker failed to disclose some past medical information during a proceeding. The Court held that the element of intent was not proven.

Cases involving fraud are especially fact sensitive. Rarely does someone play both sides of the story line in perpetrating an intentional workers' compensation fraud scheme. Carlos Perry in West Virginia did so as the US Justice Department reports:

Knoxville Man Sentenced To Twelve Years Imprisonment For Workers' Compensation Fraud

Carlos Perry Found to Have Defrauded Six Insurance Companies Out of $401,649 in Benefits

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 20, 2014

ABINGDON, VIRGINIA – United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy announced today that Carlos Perry, 58, Knoxville, Tenn. was sentenced last week in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon to twelve years in federal prison.

Perry was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $324,914.70. Perry had previously pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud.

According to evidence presented at the sentencing and guilty plea hearings by Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee, between January 2011 and February 2014, Perry developed a scheme in which he defrauded six different insurance companies of workers’ compensation benefits using false business and fictitious employees.  An investigation by the United States Secret Service determined that Perry’s scheme entailed Perry impersonating an owner of six fictitious businesses located in Wise, Va., Johnson City, Tenn., Bristol, Va., and Abingdon, Va., in order to obtain workers’ compensation insurance.  Perry then filed false injury claims on behalf of the fictitious employees. 

Perry received the checks sent by the insurance companies and impersonated the fictitious employees at doctor’s visits and in communications with the insurance companies.  The United States Secret Service discovered that Perry utilized nineteen fictitious identities in the course of his scheme and used the social security numbers of numerous real persons to execute his fraud.  On January 29, 2014, Perry was arrested by the United States Secret Service and the United States Marshals Service at a doctor’s office in Kingsport, Tenn., where he was impersonating one of the fictitious employees.  As a result of Perry’s scheme, six separate insurance companies sustained a combined loss of $401,649.66. 

The investigation of this case was conducted by United States Secret Service, United States Marshals Service, and the Virginia State Police.  Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee is prosecuting the case for the United States.

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Lawsuit claims chemical spill at Armstrong caused worker's neurological disorder

Today's post is sahred from  inpews.com

Sandra Cooper remembers the exact date her life started to turn upside down: Sept. 25, 2003. She'd gotten home from her job as an art teacher at Garden Spot High School around 4 p.m. that day. Her husband, Gene, who was on shift work at Armstrong World Industries floor plant, arrived home a short time later. She heard him coming. "I could hear the coughing even before he came up the sidewalk," Sandra Cooper said. "I've never heard anybody cough like that." His eyes were watering, he had a blinding headache and he was screaming in between hacks. There'd been a spill at work, he told his wife. Chemicals. He had to help clean it up.

Made by a robot...driven by a computer

The workers' compensation scheme is being challenged to potential extinction by the workplace in which it was created decades ago. Stressed by economic challenges that have been fueled by globalization and technology, workers' compensation benefit programs are now being dismantled by historic reforms that attack the core philosophical  principles of its very existence. 

The evolving dynamic of the world's automobile industry provides a focus on the new economy where goods are made by robots and operated by a computer.

AAJ Publishes Report on Insurance Companies

The American Association for Justice (AAJ) has published a report, "Tricks of the Trade: How Insurance Companies Deny, Delay, Confuse and Refuse."

"The U.S. insurance industry has trillions of dollars in assets, enjoys average profits of over $30 billion a year, and pays its CEOs more than any other industry. But insurance companies still engage in dirty tricks and unethical behavior to boost their bottom line even further."

The repoort describes methods that it alleges that insurance companies utilize to make money at the expense of consumers.

The tactics insurance companies use against consumers include:

Denying Claims: Some of the nation’s biggest insurance companies – Allstate, AIG, and State Farm among others – have systematically denied valid claims in an attempt to boost their bottom lines. These companies have rewarded employees who successfully denied claims, replaced employees who would not, and when all else failed, engaged in outright fraud to avoid paying claims.

Delaying until Death: Many insurance companies routinely delay claims, even going as far as to lock paperwork in safes, knowing full well that many policyholders will simply give up. In the words of one regulator, “the bottom line is that insurance companies make money when they don’t pay claims… They’ll do anything to avoid paying, because if they wait long enough, they know the policyholders will die.”

Confusing Consumers: Insurance contracts are some of the densest and incomprehensible contracts a consumer is ever likely to see. More than half of all states have enacted “plain English” laws for consumer contracts, yet many Americans still do not fully understand the risks they are subject to.

Discriminating By Credit Score: Insurance companies are increasingly using credit reports to dictate the premiums you pay, or whether you can even get insurance in the first place. The practice penalizes senior citizens with little credit, those who responsibly pay bills every month with cash or check, or those who have suffered financial crisis through no fault of their own.

Abandoning the Sick: Health insurers looking to cut costs have taken to retroactively canceling, or rescinding, the policies of people whose conditions have become expensive to treat. Some insurance companies have even offered bonuses to employees who meet “cancellation goals” – cancer patients in the middle of chemotherapy have even been targeted.

Canceling for a Call: Many people are rightly reluctant to make small claims on their home insurance for fear their insurance company will raise their premiums. But few realize that insurance companies often refuse to renew a policy just for making a phone call. Often an insurance company will count an inquiry over the phone as the same as a claim, and then they will do everything in their power to drop you.

Asbestos Contaminates 772 New York City Schools

The Board of Education of the City of New York has reported that asbestos wiring, a known carcinogen, is hampering the removal of PCB lights. The asbestos contaminating the schools is was discovered while the City was attempting to remove lighting at the school.

WNYC, Public Radio in NY reported that, Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm told a City Council committee said, "Asbestos comes with its own special rules and containment procedures," She said it can only be removed on weekends and holidays, not evenings "because we have to actually contain the area, and make sure that we're removing it properly and disposing of it properly." It is anticipated that it will take 10 years to remove the asbestos from the schools.

Asbestos, for decades, has been linked to asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. Mesothelioma remains an incurable and fatal disease. Asbestos is one of the modern world’s most historic occupational medical disasters. Not only is it well documented, it continues not to be banned in the US.

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 accidents and injuries.

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The Lingering Consequences of Smoke in the Workplace

Countless studies have confirmed the health risks associated with smoking and secondhand smoke exposure. Now, new research is bringing attention to potential health risks associated with so-called thirdhand smoke, the mixture of tobacco smoke toxicants that lingers in the air and on surfaces after the smoke itself dissipates. 


An article in the current issue of Environmental Health Perspectives takes a look at the state of the science on thirdhand smoke and discusses why some researchers believe it is a cause for concern.

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Trenton NJ council approves sleeping employee’s $19K workers’ comp claim

Still frame from a video showing a Trenton city employee asleep in a running backhoe.Still frame from a video showing a Trenton city employee asleep in a running backhoe. Today's post is shared from http://washingtonexaminer.com/ TRENTON......City officials did not even question publicly the workers’ comp claim of an employee caught sleeping on camera while on the job. Charles Nottingham, a Trenton Water Works employee caught earlier this year snoozing in a video posted to YouTube while operating a backhoe, received the unanimous blessing of council to receive a workers’ comp settlement of $19,000. “The complaint arose from allegations made by the plaintiff of work related injuries as it purportedly relates to his employment,” the resolution states, adding it is in the best interest of the city to settle the 2012 case. Advertisement The video posted in March, which has since been removed, showed Nottingham sound asleep in a running backhoe with his hands clasped over his stomach at a work site. After the video surfaced, city officials stated they were investigating the matter. Citing it is a personnel matter, Michael Walker, a spokesman for the mayor’s office, declined comment this week about the workers’ comp claim. Nottingham is still an employee with Trenton Water Works. He earned a salary of $57,213 last year, according to online records. His claim is not the first from that department to garner attention. In January,...

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Controlling prescription cost: Focus on Pennsylvania

Today's post is shared from pilly.com

On Strike: BART train kills 2 workers near San Francisco

Safety is a concern even if a labor dispute leads to a strike. Workers' Compensation covers all work connected events if the arise out of the employment. This post is shared from CNN.org 

An out-of-service Bay Area Rapid Transit train struck and killed two workers on a section of track northeast of San Francisco on Saturday afternoon, the transit authority said.

The employees were making track inspections near the Walnut Creek station, BART said in a statement. One was an employee and the other was a contractor.

The train was on a routine maintenance run with an experienced operator at the controls, but at the time of the incident, it was being run in automatic mode under computer control, BART said.

The victims had extensive experience working around moving trains, the transit authority said. The procedures involved in track maintenance require one employee to inspect the track and the other employee to act as a lookout for any oncoming traffic, it said.

BART's union workers are currently on strike over a variety of issues, including wages. Following Saturday's deaths, one of the unions, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555, said it would not picket Sunday out of respect for the victims' families.

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Albany Law Professor defends 9/11 heroes' ongoing health issues

Today's post is shared from nyt.com/ Thursday marks the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, a very difficult commemoration for all Americans. One of the first responders who was there credits an Albany Law School professor for easing the pain for him and potentially for hundreds more. Jaime Hazen is a former emergency medical technician who immediately went to the scene on 9/11 to volunteer with rescue efforts, but later, when he developed serious health problems, workers comp turned him down, until the Albany Law Professor donated his services. “Every year at this time, it opens up old wound for all Americans,” says Hazan, noting the tears come far too easily this time each year. “It was a war zone, a war zone, hell,” he recalled. A former EMT living on Manhattan’s Upper West Side at the time, Hazan rushed first to Chelsea Piers to help with triage -- then to Ground Zero itself to volunteer for recovery efforts. Later, like thousands of others Hazan developed serious breathing problems. "I have had two surgeries and I need another surgery now," said Hazan. “This is a group of people who really need to be compensated,” said Albany Law School Professor Mike Hutter. He got involved after the Workers Compensation Board told Hazan and others who volunteered but were not affiliated with a rescue agency that they were not eligible for benefits. Hutter took...

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Federal RICO Claim Not Preempted by a State Workers Compensation Act

The US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a landmark case of widespread significance,  has held that a State may not preempt a Federal cause of action under the RICO [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act] statute by asserting that workers' compensation claims are exclusive to State jurisdiction. In long and convoluted history, workers in Michigan have asserted that their employer and its workers' compensation carrier, Crawford & Company, and its experts, ie. "cut off doctor," sought to conspire to defeat their pending claims, "property interest," for benefits under the Michigan state workers' compensation act.


Click here to read: Brown et al. v. Cassens Transport Co. et al., 6th Cir Ct of Appeals,http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/12a0095p-06.pdf Decided, April 6, 2012 (Michigan).

"The flaw with the defendants’ argument is that the predicate offense for the RICO action is mail fraud, not the denial of worker’s compensation. “The gravamen of [a] RICO cause of action is not the violation of state law, but rather certain conduct, illegal under state law, which, when combined with an impact on commerce, constitutes a violation of federal law. Therefore, it is not alleged that [the defendants are] subject to ‘liability under’ the [state law]; their liability . . . stems from RICO.” Williams v. Stone, 109 F.3d 890, 895 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 522 U.S. 956 (1997). The district court here erred when it stated that this case does not “involve[] a separate and independent tort (theft or conversion or some similar claim)” because the plaintiffs “cannot disentangle their RICO claim from their underlying claim for benefits.” 743 F. Supp. 2d at 666, 668."

For more information and analysis of this case click here: Workers' Compensation Blog

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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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CCWC at Disneyland

Today's post is authored by Julius Young and shared from workcompzone.com I’ve been attending the 2014 California Coalition on Workers’ Compensation annual conference at Disneyland, which wrapped up yesterday. On Wednesday the conference kicked off with a blogger’s panel featuring myself, insurance consultant and blogger Peter Rousmaniere, Workcompcentral.com publisher David DePaolo, and WorkersCompensation.com publisher Bob Wilson.  Mark Walls of Safety National Insurance moderated a lively discussion that got into some “out of the box” discussions about the direction of workers’ comp; in a coming post I’ll reprise some of the thoughts from the panel and offer some further insights. CCWC is a major player on the California workers’ comp scene. Many of California’s big employers are members. I’m talking companies like Safeway, Walt Disney and UPS. CCWC is one of several prominent employer advocates in Sacramento along with the Cal Chamber and groups like WCAN (Workers Compensation Action Network). Members of CCWC were pivotal in drafting and pushing through the 2012 SB 863 California comp reforms. Key board members clearly have the ear of Brown Administration policymakers. And the Sacramento lobbyists used by CCWC, Paul Yoder and Jason Schmelzer, are a talented bunch. In short, the conference attracts many of the key employer and insurer players in California workers’ comp. Here are some of the more interesting things I heard and some of my random impressions from the...

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Proposed CMS Legislation Cannot be Resuscitated Following the Wall Street Bailout

The efforts of the insurance industry to revive the previously fatally ill CMS reform legislation can be declared over and the life support disconnected following the Congressional actions to bailout Wall Street. The bill had been given a bounce, like a dead cat thrown against the ground, by the insurance industry, and some misinformed stakeholders, but economics and public opinion will not support the effort any longer.

The combination of the nationalization of AIG and the need for the US government to raise $700 Billion, makes it extremely doubtful that the Federal government is going to give the insurance industry another break other than to reinforce the country's need to insure banks and their spreadsheets.

CMS made it absolutely clear on a national teleconference on October 1st that it was holding workers’ compensation insurance carriers as sole Responsible Reporting Entities (RRE) and it wasn’t going to let them just walk away and re-delegate responsibility to others. CMS declared that workers’ compensation conditional medical payments remained a “pay and chase” proposition and that CMS was not allowing the responsibility of reporting to be shifted by the insurance industry.

The tightening of governmental scrutiny is now a predominate theme as the socialization of the insurance industry becomes more apparent and the existence of workers' compensation as a State based program becomes ever more threatened. Both sides of the political aisle are now being encouraged to look at insurance programs in a new light and make major adjustments as the economic viability of the country remains threatened. Giving the insurance industry another break by allowing them to shift responsibility back to CMS just isn't on the horizon and the idea can be finally buried.

OSHA cites Wal-Mart Super Center for repeat and serious safety hazards - proposes $52,600 in fines

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for alleged repeat and serious violations of workplace safety standards at the Wal-Mart Super Center store located at 139 Merchant Place in Cobleskill. The retailer faces a total of $52,600 in proposed fines following inspections by OSHA's Albany Area Office.


OSHA found that emergency exit access from a receiving and storage area was obstructed by the storage of pallets containing merchandise and equipment, and employees were not able to safely operate pallet jacks in aisles and passageways that were obstructed by stacked merchandise. In addition, portable fire extinguishers were not mounted and located in safely accessible areas, and the lack of a protective fitting and strain relief for an electrical conduit entering a control box presented an electrical hazard.


These conditions resulted in the issuance of citations with $48,200 in proposed fines for three repeat violations. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. In this case, OSHA had previously cited Wal-Mart for similar hazards at stores in Newington, Conn.; Chelmsford and West Boylston, Mass.; Centralia and Joliet, Ill.; Coshocton, Ohio; and Lewisville, Texas.


"The recurring nature of these hazards is disturbing and needs to be effectively addressed," said Kimberly Castillon, OSHA's area director in Albany. "An employer with multiple locations, such as Wal-Mart, needs to ensure that hazards are identified, corrected and prevented at all of its workplaces."


Additionally, a citation with a $4,400 fine has been issued for a serious violation involving a lack of eye, face and hand protection as well as safety training for employees operating cardboard balers. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.


"One step an employer can take to protect its workers against on-the-job hazards is to develop and maintain an effective illness and injury prevention program in which management and employees work together to proactively identify and prevent hazardous conditions," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York.


Arkansas-based Wal-Mart has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.


To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Albany office at 518-464-4338.


Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

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The New Non-Subscriber Opt-Out Plan Is Emerging As The Alternative to Traditional Workers' Compensation

Given birth by Bechtel in Massachusetts over a decade ago, nurtured by ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act, 29 USCS § 1002) ) and fed by the increasing frustrations of employers and employees throughout the nation, the new non-subscription Opt-Out Plan has emerged as a leading alternative solution to traditional workers' compensation coverage.

It has been reported that since its formal adoption by Oklahoma last week, David DePaolo, the knowledgeable CEO of WorkCompCentral (and cycling enthusiast) reports  that other states, including: Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana and Tennessee, will have legislation introduced to statutorily recognize the concept.

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NH Governor Hassan Creates Workers’ Compensation Commission for Reform

In order to help reduce workers’ compensation costs that are a burden on New Hampshire businesses and ensure that injured workers have access to high-quality care, Governor Maggie Hassan today issued an Executive Order creating the Commission to Recommend Reforms to Reduce Workers’ Compensation Medical Costs.

“Employers and workers have done their part to increase workplace safety, but New Hampshire has become one of the most expensive states in the nation for workers’ compensation, a burden on businesses across the state,” Governor Hassan said. “By bringing together business leaders and experts from insurance, health care and labor, the Commission to Recommend Reforms to Reduce Workers’ Compensation Medical Costs provides an opportunity for stakeholders to identify ways to reduce workers’ compensation medical costs and ensure that injured workers have access to quality care. With these reforms, our businesses will be able to re-invest these dollars in growing their companies, creating new jobs and keeping our economy moving in the right direction.”

Tasked with making recommendations to reform New Hampshire’s workers’ compensation system, the commission will review the data behind New Hampshire’s high workers’ compensation costs; analyze efforts by other states to successfully reduce workers’ compensation costs; review how other states ensure continued access to quality care for injured workers; and develop comprehensive reforms that will reduce costs and premiums and improve New Hampshire’s workers’ compensation system while ensuring that injured workers have access to quality care.

According to the Oregon Workers Compensation Rate Ranking Study, New Hampshire rose from the 14th-most expensive state for workers’ compensation coverage in the country in 2008 to the ninth-most expensive in 2012. In addition, data from the National Council on Compensation Insurance shows that workers’ compensation surgical procedures in New Hampshire are 83 percent more expensive than those in the region and more than twice as expensive as they are nationally. For more information on New Hampshire’s workers’ compensation costs, visit www.nh.gov/insurance/media/pr/2014/documents/052214.pdf .

“New Hampshire is among the most expensive states for workers’ compensation, an unnecessary disadvantage for businesses that operate here,” said New Hampshire Insurance Department Commissioner Roger Sevigny. “I look forward to working with the commission to improve our workers’ compensation system by making recommendations to reduce costs and premiums while ensuring that workers have access to quality care.”

Commissioner Sevigny will be the chairman of the Commission to Recommend Reforms to Reduce Workers’ Compensation Medical Costs. He will be joined on the commission by New Hampshire Department of Labor Commissioner Jim Craig or a designee from the department, as well as a diverse group of experts representing workers, employers, insurance professionals and the health care sector.

The Commission’s final report is due to the Governor on December 1, 2014.

Other members of the commission are:
Brian Allen, Vice President of Government Affairs at HELIOS (formerly Progressive Medical/PMSI)
Donald F. Baldini, AVP and State Affairs Officer at Liberty Mutual Insurance
Pamela Bronson, Administrator at Access Sports Medicine & Orthopedics
Paul W. Chant of Cooper Cargill Chant
Tammy Denver, Director of Claims & Coverage Programs at NH Public Risk Management Exchange (Primex3)
Edward Dudley, Executive Vice President/CFO of Catholic Medical Center
Mark Erdody, Director of New England Claims for Cove Risk Services, LLC
Marc Lacroix, New Hampshire Physical Therapy Association and Director of Specialty Services at Concord Hospital
David Lang, President of Professional Firefighters of NH
Mark Mackenzie, President of NH AFL-CIO
Peter McNamara, President of NH Automobile Dealers Association
Dr. Gregory Soghikian of New Hampshire Orthopaedic Center
Ben Wilcox, President & General Manager of Cranmore Mountain Resort

Full text of the Governor’s Executive Order

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