At the 2019 SAWCA Annual Convention, Mark Walls from Safety National moderated a panel discussion featuring large employers who all retain risk on their workers’ compensation programs. The panel featured: Brenda Ratcliff – Shaw Industries Connie Chandler – United Postal Services Elizabeth Bailey – Waffle House Marc Salm – Publix Supermarkets Melisa Yopp – Tyson Foods All these employers have blended programs with a mix of high deductible and self-insured. Some of these programs are self-administered but most utilize a Third Party Administrator for claims review. The session was done in question/answer format like a talk show, so this blog
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Risk management is continuing to expand. The discipline is rapidly embracing areas that would have clearly belonged elsewhere in the past. This session at WCI’s 2019 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference discussed current disruptors and future outlook. Speakers included: Marc Salm, Vice President, Risk Management, Publix Super Markets, Inc. Peter G. Keating, Jr., CRM, Claims Manager, SP+ Max Koonce, Managing Director, Sedgwick CMS (moderator) Marijuana is predicted to become a $57 billion industry by 2027. States are slowly beginning to decriminalize it, so what is an employer to do? It is important to note that marijuana is currently not approved to
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The end goal of every workers’ compensation claim is to get the injured worker back to work as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. Even with the best intentions, misalignment between parties is common. In this session at WCI’s 2019 Educational Conference, panelists explored creative methods to build stronger alignment between stakeholders. Moderator: Jim Robert – Owner of Best Foot 4Ward, LLC Panel: Paul Koziatek – President, Risk Management America Jaime Sigurdsson – Director of Worker’s Compensation at CORA Physical Therapy Stephen G. Kaufer – Attorney at Walton Lantaff Schroeder & Carson, LLP There are several parties involved in any workers’
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At the 2019 WCI Conference, a session discussed how to avoid common pitfalls of the Medicare Secondary Payer Compliance (MSP) process. The speakers were: Heather Sanderson – Chief Legal Officer, Franco Signor LLc Rose Arellano – Director of Healthcare Billing & Recoveries, Performant Corp (current CMS contractor) Cliff Connor – VP Medicare Compliance, Gallagher Bassett Services Conditional Payments Medicare has the authority to make conditional payments where the primary plan may not pay promptly conditioned on reimbursement from the primary plan. Medicare has the statutory right to pursue recovery from any entity to secure this conditional payment. This includes carriers,
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Early Symptom Intervention (ESI) programs can improve the overall well-being and productivity of workers. However, many employers face challenges when implementing these programs. In this session at WCI’s 2019 Educational conference, panelists discuss how they have developed and maintained successful ESI programs and share statistics on their return on investment. Moderator: Robyn Lewis – Regional Manager of WorkStrategies at Select Medical Panel: Lisa Bosserman – EHS Manager at Lockheed Martin Jennifer Archer-Denton – Senior Safety Specialist at FedEx Express Work-related musculoskeletal disorders account for nearly one million injuries resulting in lost work time. They amount to over $1.5 billion in
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Employers who have adopted and embraced advocacy early on are becoming increasingly creative in the way they engage employees. Initial results are impressive, yielding improved outcomes. This session at WCI’s 2019 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference examined the important elements of an employee advocacy approach. Speakers included: Noreen Olson, RN, MN, COHN-S, ARM, Manager, Claims, Risk Management, Starbucks Tracey Gasper, Manager, Insurance Programs, Hertz Claims Management Steve Figliuolo, Enterprise Risk Management, Chick-fil-A, Inc. Debra Livington, Chief Executive Officer, ReEmployAbility, Inc Scott Westman, CPCU, CRM, CIC, ARM, SCLA, Senior Vice President – Casualty Operations, Sedgwick CMS (moderator) Advocacy has been a buzzword
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Whether it is black swans, emerging risks, artificial intelligence, the global economy, demographic shifts, or any number of other issues, the future of risk management is evolving and regularly being reassessed and forecasted. This session at WCI’s 2019 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference explored the issues that are impacting the risk discipline and set the stage for what is to be expected of risk leaders of the future. Speakers included: Soubhagya Parija, Chief Risk Officer, NY Power Authority Brad Waldron, Vice President, Risk Management, Caesar’s Entertainment Guy Fraker, Chief Innovation Officer, ITL Advisory Chris Mandel, Senior Vice President, Strategic Solutions Director
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Patient-centered care is much more than just patient satisfaction. It can drive better outcomes in the workers’ compensation industry. In this session at WCI’s 2019 Educational Conference, panelists explored how payers, employers and providers can utilize practical strategies to leverage this trend in today’s complex healthcare environment. Moderator: Mary O’ Donoghue – Chief Clinical Officer at MedRisk Panel: David Deitz, MD – David Deitz and Associates Johnathan Nutt – Head of Medical Management Services at AIG Michael Murphy – Director, Corporate Risk Management at Kennametal Inc Jean Feldman – Director of Managed Care, Workers’ Compensation Claims at Sentry Insurance There
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The Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) conducted interviews with injured workers over the past four years to help understand how they navigate workers’ compensation systems. This session at WCI’s 2019 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference highlighted the results and provided insights into areas of opportunity as a result. Speakers included: Michele Adams, Vice President of Risk Management, Walt Disney World Resorts Laure Lamy, Regional Director, Workers’ Compensation Research Institute WCRI felt it was important to study injured worker outcomes because information about how workers fare in the system is lacking. They conducted telephonic interviews, focusing on claims where the individual had
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Use of telehealth is expected to grow by 15 percent in 2020. With so many new adopters, it is worth exploring the possibility that this technology could help decrease the use of opioids by injured workers. In this session at WCI’s 2019 Educational Conference, panelists discussed the physical and biopsychosocial components of pain and how to help injured employees successfully return to work. Moderator: Sean Sullivan – Sr. Director, Product Management at One Call Panel: Ted Borgstadt – CEO at TrestleTree Amy Lukowski – Clinical Product Director of myStrength at Livongo Pain management is a human experience. The use of
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