A NJ Workers' Compensation Judge Ordered the continuation of medical services to an injured worker who has been struggling for years because of chronic knee pain depression and anxiety despite the objection of the employer who sought to terminate care. The Judge Philip A. Tornetta, Administrative Supervisory Judge of Compensation, adopted an innovative approach in attempt to reduce or eliminated prescribed drugs including, "Oxycontin for her knee pain, Lexapro for depression and Xanax, which helps her sleep."
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query federalization. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query federalization. Sort by date Show all posts
Friday, March 18, 2016
Monday, July 11, 2011
The Debt Ceiling and Workers Compensation
 |
President Barack Obama talks with members of his staff in the Oval Office following a meeting with the Congressional Leadership, July 7, 2011. Pictured with the President, from left, are: Chief of Staff Bill Daley; Rob Nabors, Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs; Bruce Reed, Chief of Staff to the Vice President; National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling; Jason Furman, Principal Deputy Director of the National Economic Council; Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew; Senior Advisor David Plouffe; and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) |
As The Debt Ceiling Crisis continues to fester in a sluggish economy, the attack on public health programs like Medicare and Workers Compensation remain targets of cuts. Basically the medical delivery system just can't be supported and is imploding bringing down the entire house of cards.
Workers' Compensation, a patchwork of state programs, has a target on its back. The system is a massive Ponzi Scheme that now lacks a base of economic support and can no longer provide delivery of benefits in either the arena of medical or indemnity. It is the promise to Labor that just can't be kept.
Angry critics from cost to coast have targeted the system with a plethora of lame excuses why the system is ailing and why it is too costly to maintain as presently structured. While Industry continues somewhat to the downfall of workers' compensation, it cannot be blamed entirely. The compensation system was build on the foundation of the Industrial Revolution and a massive insurance scheme of the early 1900s that no longer realistically exists. Medical science has been transformed from the ancient French medical practice of the use of leaches, no anesthesia and zero sterilization, to an era of modern medicine with modern modalities, complex diagnostic and treatment and research protocols.
As the debate unfolds in Washington DC on the debt ceiling, the focus with become more directed upon public entitlement programs and benefits that need to be modernized and revamped to meet the current changes to the economy and health of the nation. One of those targets will ultimately be workers' compensation and this time the politicians should look at it not in the light of negativity but rather for all the positive benefits workers compensation brings the nation.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
USPS May Declare Bankruptcy Citing High Workers Compensation Costs
The Washington Post reported Saturday that the US Postal Service (USPS) may declare bankruptcy and cited high combined benefit costs as a major cause for its financial instability. The quasi-governmental agency is running into problems it claims because of its requirement to to pre-fund $5.4 billion to a retiree health benefit fund and pay $2.5 billion to the federal workers' compensation fund.
The USPS's troubles mirror that difficulties stangulating the nation's network of state workers' systems caused by the inability to fund soaring medical costs enhanced by complications caused by duplicate administrative costs engulfed by a multiplicity of collateral programs. In contested claims injured workers are shifted to other benefit programs to pay for medical costs. Those secondary programs ultimately seek reimbursement from the primary benefit program, workers' compensation coverage, and literally clog up administrative dockets and create greatly enhanced processing costs and monumental delays.
While the USPS will seek assistance from the Republican majority in US Congress, it is uncertain what financial aid will be forthcoming, or whether Congress will take a deeper look at the nation's workers' compensation entirely. The last time the Republican's dominated Congress proposals were suggested by the former Speaker, Newt Gingrich, to over haul the national system entirely.
The medical component is now in critical condition. It remains uncertain if it will addressed in the next congressional term, or whether it will be the can that is kicked down the road to be dealt with in the future. The growing trend remains, that Federalization of the medical delivery component is the probable solution to both the USPS's compensation difficulties as well as the the nation's.
...
For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered work related accident and injuries.
The USPS's troubles mirror that difficulties stangulating the nation's network of state workers' systems caused by the inability to fund soaring medical costs enhanced by complications caused by duplicate administrative costs engulfed by a multiplicity of collateral programs. In contested claims injured workers are shifted to other benefit programs to pay for medical costs. Those secondary programs ultimately seek reimbursement from the primary benefit program, workers' compensation coverage, and literally clog up administrative dockets and create greatly enhanced processing costs and monumental delays.
While the USPS will seek assistance from the Republican majority in US Congress, it is uncertain what financial aid will be forthcoming, or whether Congress will take a deeper look at the nation's workers' compensation entirely. The last time the Republican's dominated Congress proposals were suggested by the former Speaker, Newt Gingrich, to over haul the national system entirely.
The medical component is now in critical condition. It remains uncertain if it will addressed in the next congressional term, or whether it will be the can that is kicked down the road to be dealt with in the future. The growing trend remains, that Federalization of the medical delivery component is the probable solution to both the USPS's compensation difficulties as well as the the nation's.
...
For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered work related accident and injuries.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Health Reform Coverage for Asbestos Victims Expands
The Federal health reform medical coverage for asbestos victims is expanding in Libby Montana. The announcement was made by Senator Baucus who sponsored the innovated unified Federal healthcare legislation that is a national pilot program for the treatment of occupational illness and diseases..
The mine near Libby, Montana, was the source of over 70 percent of all vermiculite sold in the U.S. from 1919 to 1990. There was also a deposit of asbestos at that mine, so the vermiculite from Libby was contaminated with asbestos. Vermiculite from Libby was used in the majority of vermiculite insulation in the U.S. and was often sold under the brand name Zonolite.
As far back as 1999, Baucus wrote a letter to then Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala requesting immediate medical help and assistance to the area. He further lambasted the EPA's decision to not declare a Public Health Emergency, calling it an "outrage."
In 2008, Baucus released a report detailing a 2002 attempt by the EPA to declare a Public Health Emergency in Libby that was thwarted by the previous Administration's Office of Management and Budget. And on June 17, 2009, due in large part to Baucus' efforts, the EPA declared its first ever public health emergency in Libby, Montana.
After securing the declaration, Baucus fought hard, as a key author of the Affordable Care Act, to make sure the law included a mechanism for residents of Libby and Lincoln County to access the health care they were entitled to as victims of a public health emergency. As a result, Libby residents began receiving coverage under Medicare in Spring 2010.
"Libby Care" is an innovated plan under which the Federal government provides medical care to those who were exposed to asbestos fiber in the geographical area of the Libby asbestos mines. The mines were operated by WR Grace. The program is a pilot plan providing for free coverage to asbestos victims and is administered by Medicare. The pilot program may expand the Federal government's future role in providing medical coverage for all occupational exposure claims and thus avoid the litigious and burdened workers' compensation medical treatment system.
Montana's senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus today announced additional asbestos-related health services to be included under the health care coverage he secured for Lincoln County asbestos victims in the Affordable Care Act.
"The people of Libby and Lincoln County suffered a horrendous injustice in the name of greed, and we have a responsibility to help them heal however we can. We secured a Public Health Emergency Declaration in Libby to make sure these folks had access to all the tools they needed. Providing Libby victims with the consistent, reliable, health care they are entitled to under the law is the least we can do to help right this outrageous wrong," Baucus said.
Dr. Brad Black, Medical Director of the Center for Asbestos Related Disease in Libby said, "CARD, our patients, and the Libby community greatly appreciates Senator Baucus' work to secure legislation to provide long-term asbestos health benefits and screening. Medicare benefits, the Medicare Pilot Program for Asbestos Related Disease and ongoing asbestos screening are critical services for the affected population of today and tomorrow."
CARD is a community based non-profit organization established in 2000 that is committed to providing asbestos screening and healthcare related to the Libby asbestos exposure.
"While some in Congress are trying to end Medicare as we know it for Montanans, we strengthened it and improved access to better health care for folks in places like Libby," said U.S. Senator Jon Tester. "Today the people of Libby have better access to the health care services they need and deserve. It's a powerful investment in Montana's people."
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said today the agency would begin covering the additional benefits July 1, 2011 under a permanent pilot program Baucus included in the Affordable Care Act to ensure Libby victims received the full range of services needed to treat asbestos diseases. Benefits cover services not already included under Medicare coverage Libby asbestos victims now receive under the law, including:
Today's news is the third step in Baucus' provisions to secure health care coverage for Libby under the Affordable care Act. In Spring 2010, as part of Baucus' provisions, victims of asbestos exposure in Lincoln County began getting care under Medicare. In March of 2011, Baucus announced a grant program to help Lincoln County health care providers screen for asbestos-related diseases. Before the new program announced today, Libby asbestos victims relied on temporary and uncertain grants programs to receive the additional care they needed.
Individuals can call 1-888-469-9464 to enroll in the pilot by phone or visit the websitewww.noridianmedicare.com/ard beginning June 14.
Earlier this year Baucus was announced as the 2011 Tribute of Hope Award recipient by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) for his tireless efforts fighting on behalf of residents of Libby, Lincoln County and Asbestos victims everywhere. In March, the Senate unanimously passed Baucus' resolution to designate the first week of April 2011 as "Asbestos Awareness Week," and call attention to Libby and other victims of asbestos-related disease.
Additional background on Baucus' longstanding efforts to secure declaration of a Public Health Emergency in Libby:
Baucus has been a long-time champion of asbestos awareness in his efforts to declare the mining tragedy in Lincoln County a public health emergency and make sure folks there have access to the clean-up tools and health care they need.
Since news reports first linked widespread deaths and illness to exposure to deadly asbestos fibers at the defunct W.R Grace and Co. mine, Baucus has visited Libby more than 20 times, secured millions for healthcare and cleanup, brought numerous White House cabinet secretaries to the town, helped save the CARD clinic, and has dogged the EPA to keep cleanup efforts moving forward.
Montana's senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus today announced additional asbestos-related health services to be included under the health care coverage he secured for Lincoln County asbestos victims in the Affordable Care Act.
"The people of Libby and Lincoln County suffered a horrendous injustice in the name of greed, and we have a responsibility to help them heal however we can. We secured a Public Health Emergency Declaration in Libby to make sure these folks had access to all the tools they needed. Providing Libby victims with the consistent, reliable, health care they are entitled to under the law is the least we can do to help right this outrageous wrong," Baucus said.
Dr. Brad Black, Medical Director of the Center for Asbestos Related Disease in Libby said, "CARD, our patients, and the Libby community greatly appreciates Senator Baucus' work to secure legislation to provide long-term asbestos health benefits and screening. Medicare benefits, the Medicare Pilot Program for Asbestos Related Disease and ongoing asbestos screening are critical services for the affected population of today and tomorrow."
CARD is a community based non-profit organization established in 2000 that is committed to providing asbestos screening and healthcare related to the Libby asbestos exposure.
"While some in Congress are trying to end Medicare as we know it for Montanans, we strengthened it and improved access to better health care for folks in places like Libby," said U.S. Senator Jon Tester. "Today the people of Libby have better access to the health care services they need and deserve. It's a powerful investment in Montana's people."
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said today the agency would begin covering the additional benefits July 1, 2011 under a permanent pilot program Baucus included in the Affordable Care Act to ensure Libby victims received the full range of services needed to treat asbestos diseases. Benefits cover services not already included under Medicare coverage Libby asbestos victims now receive under the law, including:
- Special home care services;
- Special medical equipment;
- Help with travel to get care;
- Special counseling, for example, help quitting smoking;
- Nutritional supplements; and
- Prescription drugs not covered by Medicare drug plans (Participants in the Pilot Program must be in a Medicare drug plan to receive this benefit.)
Today's news is the third step in Baucus' provisions to secure health care coverage for Libby under the Affordable care Act. In Spring 2010, as part of Baucus' provisions, victims of asbestos exposure in Lincoln County began getting care under Medicare. In March of 2011, Baucus announced a grant program to help Lincoln County health care providers screen for asbestos-related diseases. Before the new program announced today, Libby asbestos victims relied on temporary and uncertain grants programs to receive the additional care they needed.
Individuals can call 1-888-469-9464 to enroll in the pilot by phone or visit the websitewww.noridianmedicare.com/ard beginning June 14.
Earlier this year Baucus was announced as the 2011 Tribute of Hope Award recipient by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) for his tireless efforts fighting on behalf of residents of Libby, Lincoln County and Asbestos victims everywhere. In March, the Senate unanimously passed Baucus' resolution to designate the first week of April 2011 as "Asbestos Awareness Week," and call attention to Libby and other victims of asbestos-related disease.
Additional background on Baucus' longstanding efforts to secure declaration of a Public Health Emergency in Libby:
Baucus has been a long-time champion of asbestos awareness in his efforts to declare the mining tragedy in Lincoln County a public health emergency and make sure folks there have access to the clean-up tools and health care they need.
Since news reports first linked widespread deaths and illness to exposure to deadly asbestos fibers at the defunct W.R Grace and Co. mine, Baucus has visited Libby more than 20 times, secured millions for healthcare and cleanup, brought numerous White House cabinet secretaries to the town, helped save the CARD clinic, and has dogged the EPA to keep cleanup efforts moving forward.
The mine near Libby, Montana, was the source of over 70 percent of all vermiculite sold in the U.S. from 1919 to 1990. There was also a deposit of asbestos at that mine, so the vermiculite from Libby was contaminated with asbestos. Vermiculite from Libby was used in the majority of vermiculite insulation in the U.S. and was often sold under the brand name Zonolite.
As far back as 1999, Baucus wrote a letter to then Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala requesting immediate medical help and assistance to the area. He further lambasted the EPA's decision to not declare a Public Health Emergency, calling it an "outrage."
In 2008, Baucus released a report detailing a 2002 attempt by the EPA to declare a Public Health Emergency in Libby that was thwarted by the previous Administration's Office of Management and Budget. And on June 17, 2009, due in large part to Baucus' efforts, the EPA declared its first ever public health emergency in Libby, Montana.
After securing the declaration, Baucus fought hard, as a key author of the Affordable Care Act, to make sure the law included a mechanism for residents of Libby and Lincoln County to access the health care they were entitled to as victims of a public health emergency. As a result, Libby residents began receiving coverage under Medicare in Spring 2010.
Friday, September 5, 2014
9/11 Responders Urged To Register For Workers’ Compensation Benefits
| Next week marks the anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. Many workers' who may be entitled to benefits have not yet enrolled. Today's post is shared from cbslocal.com Elected officials and union activists are urging Sept. 11 responders to sign up for New York workers’ compensation benefits. They say that those who worked around the World Trade Center site should enroll with the state Workers’ Compensation Board. Next Thursday, the 13th anniversary of the terror attacks, is the deadline to sign up. The officials said even people who are not sick should register because it preserves their right to get benefits in the future if they do fall ill. It also is open to workers who live in other states. Rep. Jerrold Nadler said that “those who have paid such a high price” deserve compensation. “This does not mean that you are injured or ill now, but it does preserve your ability to file a claim later,” Nadler said. Nadler was joined at Friday’s City Hall press conference by representatives of several unions, including DC 37 and the Laborers Local 78. As WCBS 880’s Jim Smith reported, Reverend Bill Minson spent months in and around ground zero working as a chaplain. He’s not sick now, but knows the air was like a ticking time bomb. “An incubation period for many of these cancers and things can’t be calculated,” he said. ... |
Monday, July 13, 2015
CMS Moved the Coordination of Benefits Secure Website (COBSW)
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has formally moved:
The URL for accessing the Section 111 Coordination of Benefits Secure Website (COBSW) has been changed to: https://www.cob.cms.hhs.gov/Section111//.
July 13, 2015 - Updated MMSEA Section 111 NGHP User Guide Version 4.7 - Chapters I-V Now Available
The URL for accessing the Section 111 Coordination of Benefits Secure Website (COBSW) has been changed to: https://www.cob.cms.hhs.gov/Section111//.
July 13, 2015 - Updated MMSEA Section 111 NGHP User Guide Version 4.7 - Chapters I-V Now Available
The updated MMSEA Section 111 NGHP User Guide dated July 13, 2015 has been posted to the NGHP User Guide page. Refer to Chapter 1-1 of each chapter for a summary of Version 4.7 updates.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Citizen Groups Urgently Request Court to Stop Body Scans by TSA
 |
| English: Poster prepared by the Transportation Security Administration summarizing the operation of the Millimeter Wave (MMW) whole body imaging scanner. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
More articles about scanner and health concerns
Jan 04, 2012
How much radiation is just too much and an additional risk for cancer is the question now posed by scientists concerned about TSA scanners. The scanners emit radiation in one form or another that is where the issues gets ...
Nov 21, 2011
The European Commission has adopted today a proposal for an European Union legal framework on security scanners. This legislation allows airports and Member States that wish to use security scanners for the screening ...
Mar 22, 2011
At a US Senate hearing last week, Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) revealed that TSA had made reporting errors in the statistics it has compiled in defense of the use of body scanners. "That is completely unacceptable when ...
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Santorum: Selling Health Care the Apple Way
 |
| Source: NY Times |
In Woodland Park, Colorado, at a campaign stop Rick Sanatorium policy The National Journal reported:
"A young boy asked the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania what he would do to keep prescription drugs affordable. Another woman in the audience chimed in that she couldn't afford her $900-a-month prescription.
"Santorum compared the costs to buying an iPad. "People have no problem going out and buying an iPad for $900,” he said. “But paying $200 for a drug they have a problem with -- that keeps you alive. Why? Because you've been conditioned in thinking health care is something you should get and not have to pay for."
This conservative dogma ironically conflicts with the social, economic and moral philosophy of the majority of Americans. It is one thing to reduce benefits due to austerity measures, it is quite another thing to just eliminate them outright because of a conservative doctrine.
The path toward federalization will not be an easy one. There will be those who argue for elimination based on ideology, religion and cost. Workers' Compensation programs initially were met with such challenges, and those issues were surmounted.
Comparing the purchase of life-saving drugs to the purchase of an iPad, is just wrong. Those living in abject poverty don't buy iPads monthly. They need their prescription drugs to live. The companies that exposed workers to toxins, and then deny them workers' compensation benefits when they become ill, should not then pull the medical safety-net from under them. It is immoral to deny poverty-stricken ill workers medical care.
Selling the "option" of health and safety to American workers goes against the basic tenants of the century old system of workers' compensation. Healthcare, including, infections and diseases, impact all Americans. Much more creatively needs to be expressed rather just proposing cost shifting to those who obviously can't pay the cost.
Comparing the purchase of life-saving drugs to the purchase of an iPad, is just wrong. Those living in abject poverty don't buy iPads monthly. They need their prescription drugs to live. The companies that exposed workers to toxins, and then deny them workers' compensation benefits when they become ill, should not then pull the medical safety-net from under them. It is immoral to deny poverty-stricken ill workers medical care.
Selling the "option" of health and safety to American workers goes against the basic tenants of the century old system of workers' compensation. Healthcare, including, infections and diseases, impact all Americans. Much more creatively needs to be expressed rather just proposing cost shifting to those who obviously can't pay the cost.
See The New York Times report: Even Critics of Safety Net Increasingly Depend on It
"Dozens of benefits programs provided an average of $6,583 for each man, woman and child in the county in 2009, a 69 percent increase from 2000 after adjusting for inflation. In Chicago, and across the nation, the government now provides almost $1 in benefits for every $4 in other income."
Monday, May 26, 2014
I.R.S. Bars Employers From Dumping Workers Into Health Exchanges
| WASHINGTON — Many employers had thought they could shift health costs to the government by sending their employees to a health insurance exchange with a tax-free contribution of cash to help pay premiums, but the Obama administration has squelched the idea in a new ruling. Such arrangements do not satisfy the health care law, the administration said, and employers may be subject to a tax penalty of $100 a day — or $36,500 a year — for each employee who goes into the individual marketplace. The ruling this month, by the Internal Revenue Service, blocks any wholesale move by employers to dump employees into the exchanges. Under a central provision of the health care law, larger employers are required to offer health coverage to full-time workers, or else the employers may be subject to penalties. Many employers — some that now offer coverage and some that do not — had concluded that it would be cheaper to provide each employee with a lump sum of money to buy insurance on an exchange, instead of providing coverage directly. But the Obama administration raised objections, contained in an authoritative question-and-answer document released by the Internal Revenue Service, in consultation with other agencies. The health law, known as the Affordable Care Act, builds on the current system of employer-based health insurance. The administration, like many in Congress, wants employers to continue to provide coverage to workers and their families. “I... |
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Benefits Available Under the Zadroga 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund
On January 2, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act establishing the World Trade Health Program and extends and expands eligibility for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001.
The President remarked, "I was honored to sign the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act to ensure that rescue and recovery workers, residents, students, and others suffering from health consequences related to the World Trade Center disaster have access to the medical monitoring and treatment they need. We will never forget the selfless courage demonstrated by the firefighters, police officers, and first responders who risked their lives to save others. I believe this is a critical step for those who continue to bear the physical scars of those attacks."
Those who were exposed to the toxic dust and fumes of the World Trade Center disaster continue to suffer from latent and progressive medical conditions. The New England Journal of Medicine has reported that a substantial population that was exposed to the toxic residuals of the event are suffering from sever medical conditions. Positive pathological findings reflect the existence of aluminum and magnesium silicates, chrysotile asbestos, calcium phosphate, calcium sulfate, glass, and carbon nanotubes (CNT) were found in specimens of exposed individuals.
Eligibility for benefits under the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act include those who were World Trade Center victims and First Responders. Under the law those who worked, attended school, childcare and adult day care, may be eligible. The program also covers some who were present in the area of the dust cloud or who lived in the the New York City disaster area. Certain cleanup and maintenance workers are included including tele-communications workers such as Verizon, AT&T and other employees.
Like the September 11th Victim Compensation Act of 2001, even if the exposed individuals are living in another state, but were exposed at the NY Disaster Area, the ill individuals may apply for benefits.
It is probable that cancers resulting from the exposures will be covered under the legislation. Historically, occupational and environmental exposures to carcinogens, such as asbestos, may take many years to progress and manifest into conditions as asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer.
Additionally, various respiratory and digestive diseases are being reported including:
1. Interstitial lung diseases.2. Chronic respiratory disorder--fumes/vapors.
3. Asthma.
4. Reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS).
5. WTC-exacerbated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
6. Chronic cough syndrome.
7. Upper airway hyperreactivity.
8. Chronic rhinosinusitis.
9. Chronic nasopharyngitis.
10. Chronic laryngitis.
11. Gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD).
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 asbestos related disease. Please contact our office if you require assistance in filing a claim under the newly enacted James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.
Related articles
- Public Meeting on Implementation of the Zadroga 9/11 Heath and Compensation Act
- The World Trade Center Health Program Expands The Path to Federalization (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- Obama signs Zadroga bill in quiet ceremony (nydailynews.com)
- OSHA Identifies Hazards and Risks of World Trade Center 911 Worksite
- HHA Awards $81 Million for Five-Year Health Screening of World Trade Center Rescue & Recovery Workers
- EPA Downplayed 9-11 Aftermath Toxic Exposures
- World Trade Center Health Registry to Record Those Exposed on 911 for Medical Followup
- Who is Considered a "WTC Responder" under the Zadroga 9/11 Act
Additional Resources
Friday, March 4, 2011
Public Meeting Held On Zadroga Health Compensation Fund
A public hearing, sponsored by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), was held Thursday in New York City concerning the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 (Pub. L 111-347). The purpose of the government sponsored meeting was to solicite comments on how to implement the Federal benefit program that was signed into law at the end of last year by President Obama.Victims, their families and representatives were among the presenters at the day-long hearing. A major area of concern at the hearing was whether the program will cover cancer claims and claims for anxiety based diseases that resulted from the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001. The toxic cloud of dust and fumes that emanated from the site is of serious concern to medical professionals because of the known pulmonary irritants and carcinogens, including asbestos, that it contained and transported.
The law provides for additional benefits to those who worked near the site during the months following the disaster. Not only are first responders permitted to file for benefits, but the program provides coverage to those who were utility workers, who were involved in the restoration of services, ie. telephone and power, and it also includes those who were involved in the clean-up of the area and local residents.
Comments will accepted until 5:00pm EDT on April 29, 2011 and an implementation plan will be formalized by July, 2011.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
PROTECT America's Injured Worker Medical Rights
Why This Is Important
The goal of this petition is to garner the support and representation of the American Civil Liberties Union in a due process lawsuit against the State of New York and/or other states within the United States under violations of the civil rights law pertaining to “Deliberate Indifference”, against injured worker’s legal rights to timely and qualified medical treatment thereof.
American workers were improperly stripped of their rights to sue their employer or the state for damages sustained in workplace accidents in 1917 before most of us were even born. Workers Compensation laws, in direct conflict with employee due process rights, quickly spread nationally. Only one lawsuit resulted, ironically, on behalf of employer due process rights. Despite the fact that this contract which lives in infamy violates both employer and employee rights, it has survived for 95 years.
Meanwhile, the "contract" has become so inequitable that millions of American workers are defrauded of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, after being thrown into an adversarial court system, where their $5.00 lawyers fight against six figure slingers who represent insurance companies that are raping America.
Injured workers are forced to obtain treatment from an inadequate, unspecialized list of providers, often with disastrous long term results and are barred from both timely and appropriate medical treatment through a complex paper trail of denials for basic medical care.
Injured workers are forced to obtain treatment from an inadequate, unspecialized list of providers, often with disastrous long term results and are barred from both timely and appropriate medical treatment through a complex paper trail of denials for basic medical care.
Further, their lifetime awards are severely limited, and their income reduced to nothing. Paid Independent Medical Examiners with little or no experience with the injury at hand are allowed to pass judgment on degrees of life time injury, literally whisking away damages for the benefit of the insurance providers who pay them. It's only a matter of time until Claimant’s are completely penniless and wind up on welfare, which lets the insurance company off the hook, but leaves the taxpayers holding the tab for social programs such as food stamps and medical coverage or social security disability, as the statutorily promised income protection and medical coverage is non-existent.
Additionally, Injured Workers who are legally entitled to lifetime medical benefits are finding these benefits are unavailable when they relocate from one state to another unless an out of state provider is willing to take on complex paper processes and pathetic reimbursement rates. Once injured in New York, you will never leave New York, or, in essence, you forfeit your right to coverage.
Due to low reimbursement, high medical malpractice risk (due to lack of timely treatment and authorization), and complex paper processes, the list of available providers is shrinking rapidly from year to year. Often, professional review processes are not employed by State government, and substandard physicians are the only ones left on the medical provider list.
Americans are being defrauded and led to believe they will be dealt with fairly, but all fairness has been removed from the system. Ultimately, Corporations are paying the highest insurance rates in history, while the Claimants are getting next to nothing. Meanwhile, the insurance industry makes a killing. The Workers Compensation contract is inequitable.
PROTECT AMERICAN INJURED WORKERS by repealing the 1917 Workers Compensation Act. In varying degrees, this violation of civil rights due process laws is creating a “deliberate indifference” situation, due to unrealistically low provider rates, medical malpractice risk, and shrinking provider lists. Provider fees and attorney fees haven’t been updated for years, and medical guidelines are being employed which haven’t even been ratified by the State, with each new guideline taking another chunk out of what little the injured worker is currently entitled to.
Before long, we’ll have to pay our employers when we’re injured, rather than the other way around.
Before long, we’ll have to pay our employers when we’re injured, rather than the other way around.
The failure of Workers Compensation to meet the needs of injured workers is leading to lifetime injuries which were originally treatable and the collapse of American families.
Additionally, America’s social systems are picking up the tab as injured workers flock to obtain early social security, food stamps, and Medicaid due to their lack of coverage under Workers Compensation laws.
Ironically, while American workers are being ignored, American prisoners are getting free medical treatment. In fact, American prisoners are successfully being represented by civil rights lawyers across this country in order to obtain the same quality of care that Americans have come to expect, and that American Injured Workers desire.
If prisoners have rights under “Deliberate Indifference” guidelines to fair treatment, why not the American Worker?
Under current laws, Deliberate Indifference in relation to prisoners medical or safety rights is defined as a “a failure to act where prison officials have knowledge of a substantial risk of serious harm to inmate health or safety.” Crayton v. Quarterman, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103709 (N.D. Tex. Oct. 14, 2009) (Wikipedia, 2011)
Deliberate indifference is defined as requiring (1) an "awareness of facts from which the inference could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm exists" and (2) the actual "drawing of the inference." Elliott v. Jones, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91125 (N.D. Fla. Sept. 1, 2009). (Wikipedia, 2011)
Deliberate indifference is defined as requiring (1) an "awareness of facts from which the inference could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm exists" and (2) the actual "drawing of the inference." Elliott v. Jones, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91125 (N.D. Fla. Sept. 1, 2009). (Wikipedia, 2011)
In short, failure to provide timely and appropriate medical care resulting in damage is considered a civil rights violation.
Injured American Workers should never have been deprived of their constitutional right to a fair trial, representation, justice, humanity, and freedom. They should not be restricted to substandard medical care, any more than their legal representatives or medical providers should be asked to work for free.
Enough is enough. PROTECT AMERICAN INJURED WORKERS. It is clear based on hundreds of advocacy websites across the country that Workers Compensation does not work. Therefore, the band-aid approach needs to stop. We need real change, and a new system, which is fair and equitable to the American Worker.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)