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Sunday, February 15, 2009
Pittsburg Corning to Plans to Pay Asbestos Victims $825 Million
PPG had filed for bankruptcy protection in 2000 under because of alleged potential asbestos lawsuit liabilities. Asbestos fiber, which the company supplied and manufactured, has been linked to asbestos related diseases in former asbestos workers, users and household contacts of former workers, including: asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma.
"While we continue to believe PPG is not responsible for injuries caused by Pittsburgh Corning products, this amended plan would permanently resolve PPG's asbestos liabilities associated with Pittsburgh Corning," James C. Diggs, PPG's senior VP, general counsel and secretary, said in the statement.
The trust would be funded with $1.6 Billion in cash payments through 2027. Approval of the reorganization plan is required.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
The New Economic Recovery Act Fails to Include Workers' Compensation Privacy Needs
The spokesperson for the Center for Healthcare Transformation and the Gingrich Group, stated that, "Privacy cannot be compromised, but neither can we compromise progress in pulling our health care system out of the technological Stone Age," ... "We need to find the right balance between privacy at all costs and progress at any cost."
The legislation should be expanded to protect the privacy of workers’ compensation medical records from misuse use. A coalition of legislators, including Rep. Edward J. Markey, Massachusetts Democrat, expressed deep concerns. Markey stated, "Medical information is probably the most sensitive and personal information that we have about ourselves. Without strong privacy safeguards, a health [information-technology] database will become an open invitation for identity thieves, fraudsters, extortionists or marketers looking to cash in on our medical histories." He further remarked that, "tough privacy safeguards" are necessary to reap the benefits of integrated health databases.
While the EHR is a noble project to increase overall efficiency and economy, the misuse of the data of injured workers remains a deep concern. The open door to this information left by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act [HIPA] and ignored by ARRA must be addressed so that the medical records of our working wounded do not become a gold mine for unscrupulous exploitation.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Paying for Medical Performance in Workers' Compensation Claims
The workers' compensation medical delivery system is a target of much controversy over its effectiveness. The extensive delays in the delivery of medical benefits because of bureaucratic stagnation, and the massive employee dissatisfaction over the results of industry managed care are a rising chorus of concern.
Paying for medical performance in Workers' Compensation might be just what the doctor ironically ordered so that the disabled population receives appropriate and timely care that so justly deserve.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Privacy Went Out the Window
States, in their to conversion to electronic claims record keeping, have eliminated privacy. The State of California electronically released workers’ compensation claim data concerning Nadya Suleman, the mother who gave birth to eight babies last week. This was after months of complaints by claimants and attorneys that the California electronic claims system was flawed.
Likewise the Federal law, HIPPA [The Health Care Personal Information Non-Disclosure Act of 1998] governing medical records specifically excludes workers’ compensation medical information. Final Health Insurance Privacy Regulations that were published by the Department of Health and Human Services on December 28, 2000, establishing standards for privacy of individually identifiable health information records eliminate privacy in compensation claims. While the regulations cover health plans, health care clearinghouses and certain other providers who use computers to transmit claims information, workers' compensation insurance carriers are exempted.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee has recently recommended the Congress and health agencies develop a new approach to protecting privacy in health research. In a 316 page report released by their Committee on Health Research and the Privacy of Health Information it concluded that HIPPA does not protect privacy.
As the country embarks on a new economic recovery program, including national health care, the Federal government must rebuild the national system of workers’ compensation system. Privacy should not be thrown out the windows when administering a workers' compensation benefit delivery system.
Perspectives on Asbestos Litigation - Symposium Published
CMS May Participate in Conferences to Discuss Mandatory Reporting
PL110-173sec111-comments@cms.hhs.gov
The requests must include the following information:
-Conference Name/Title.
-Contact Person for the CMS Participation Request: Name/address/telephone/email.
-Sponsoring Organization: Name/address/telephone/email.
-Date(s) and Time(s) of Conference.
-Location of Conference: City/State.
-Approximate Number of Conference Attendees.
-Conference Topics: Please attach a draft agenda for the conference if available.
-Target Audience for the conference: Please be as specific as possible (for example, plaintiff attorneys, defense attorneys, insurers, third party administrators, risk managers, etc.).
-Scope of CMS participation requested: CMS needs to know whether audience interest is expected to be directed at Group Health Plan (GHP) related reporting issues as well as Liability -Insurance (including Self-Insurance), No-Fault Insurance, and Workers’ Compensation reporting issues or is expected to be more focused on some subset such as Workers’ Compensation reporting issues.
-Is the event open to the public?
CMS plans to respond within two weeks of the submitted request.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Taxing Workers' Compensation Benefits to Finance the Bailout
The US national debt already amounts to almost $10 Trillion. The population of the US is 305.603, 863 and each citizen's share of the debt equals $35,091.43.
The economies of the Federal and State governments are crashing. California has now enacted furlough days to reduce its payroll. Delays in the delivery of workers’ compensation benefits will be compounded and insurance companies will be able to hold onto the benefits longer.
Benefit programs have increasingly become a source of revenue for the government. The Social Security Administration has enacted a user fee.
Other Federal programs charge for issuing opinions and rulings. The IRS has such a program for private rulings. CMS maybe required to impose a fee for the review and analysis of CMS MCSAA (Medicare Compensation Set Aside Agreements). The IRS already taxes punitive and non-economic awards.
As the demand for funding increases, Workers’ Compensation benefits may become a source of additional governmental revenue, especially in light of the need to monitor insurance funds and expedite the delivery of benefits. These new developments give added urgency to a complete review of the entire workers' compensation system.