At the National Council of Self-Insurers Annual Meeting, Dr. Robert Barth presented a session discussing some medical management issues that can have a significant impact on the well being of injured workers and also save employers money. Dr. Barth’s main hypotheses were: Non-work-related factors are driving the overwhelming majority of workers’ compensation costs. Workers’ compensation is inappropriately forcing an injury model on issues that are NOT actually injury-related. Workers’ compensation encourages excessive and non-credible treatment. Workers’ compensation encourages withdrawal from work. Workers’ compensation is actually harmful to the health of workers. His suggested solutions: Do not accept claims as compensable
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At the 2015 National Council of Self-Insurers Conference, Michael Caldarazzo from PhotoFax.net presented a session on the use of tactical remote surveillance technology in workers’ compensation. The Surveillance Vehicle: The vehicle must “blend” Vehicle should not be a car. Once on site, you cannot break position (bathroom, food, etc.) You never want to do “up-front surveillance” – in other words, from the front of the vehicle. You don’t want people to see you filming. The vehicle must have ample electrical power so it doesn’t need to run because that would draw attention to it. There must be silent heat and
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At the 2015 National Council of Self-Insurers Conference, Robert Minor from Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease presented a session discussing the federal government’s intrusion into state workers’ compensation issues. The first federal intrusion into workers’ compensation issues started with the Mine Safety Act in 1968. Shortly thereafter, in 1970, the federal government established OSHA to develop health and safety standards for employers nationwide. In 1972, there was a federal  study on the current status of state workers’ compensation systems. This pointed out several shortfalls in the state systems. At that time, some were pushing for minimum federal standards for state
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At the 2015 National Council of Self-Insurers conference, a panel of defense attorneys presented their views on cost control and management of claims.  The panel included Charles Brown from Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, Elaine Newquest from Gannon & Shapiro, Stewart Rubens from Grancel, Stander, Reubens, Thomas & Kinsey, and Kent Smith from Scheldrup, Blades, Schrock, Smith & Aranza. Initial Case Analysis / Assessment The first step is identifying all of the issues on the claim and the viability of these issues. It is important to know your client and their claims-handling strategy so that you approach the litigation accordingly. Costs
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At the 2015 National Council of Self-Insurers conference, Gregory Cairns from Cairns & Associates discussed the emerging legal issues associated with marijuana. Greg is an attorney from Colorado where recreational marijuana became legal in 2014. Currently, 23 states and DC allow medical marijuana.Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Colorado now allow recreational use of marijuana. Since federal law still classifies marijuana as illegal, there is case law that indicates the federal government can prosecute marijuana dispensaries. In 2011, the DEA closed down some medical marijuana dispensaries that were located within 1,000 feet of schools.  However, for the most part, the federal government
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At the 2015 National Council of Self-Insurers Annual Conference, a panel discussed the challenges of managing claims in a diverse workforce. The panels were: Michele Adams – Walt Disney World Resorts Loyd Hudson – American Electric Power Max Koonce – Walmart Disney has a diverse workforce. In fact, employees at Disney World speak three primary languages: English, Spanish and Haitian-Creole. All company meetings and communications are presented in these three languages. Approximately 45% of Disney’s new hires are minorities, and 59% are female. All 36,000 new cast members receive safety training every year and injury prevention is a high priority.
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On May 31- June 03, 2015, Conference Chronicles will be blogging from sessions at the 2015 National Council of Self-Insurers Annual Conference at St. Pete Beach, FL. Established in 1946, the National Council of Self-Insurers is and always has been the only national organization devoted to the self-insurance of workers’ compensation. The National Council of Self-Insurers was created on June 4, 1946, when seven state associations signed the “Articles of Agreement”. The NCSI has always believed that the workers compensation system, properly administered by the states, is a vital part of the economic and social fabric of the United States
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At the 2015 NCCI Annual Issues Symposium, Richard Victor, president and ceo of the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI), and Alex Swedlow, president of the California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI), presented insights from their research on medical cost drivers. Below are the highlights: Physician Dispensing There are only 8 states that either prohibit or significantly restrict physician dispensing. Most state reforms on physician dispensing have focused on price limits versus restricting the practice itself. Even with these price-focused reforms, price-to-payers for physician dispensed medications is still over 30% higher. In unregulated states, costs of physician-dispensed medications is several times higher
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At the 2015 NCCI Annual Issues Symposium, NAIC chief executive officer Ben Nelson provided his insights into many of the industry’s most immediate challenges. The highlights: Insurance regulation cannot be static. It must be fluid and adapt to changes in the industry and the economy. Although the Federal government has tried to inject itself into insurance matters, 100% of the United States insurance marketplace is regulated by the 56 members of the NAIC. Cyber security will be the biggest focus of the insurance industry in the immediate future. This includes NAIC review of the data held by both regulators and
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At the 2015 NCCI Annual Issues symposium, Robert Harwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute (III), presented a session that addressing the workplace of tomorrow. His session included gender differences in workplace assignments, new definitions of what will constitute a “job” in the future and the increasing “on-demand” nature of of the workplace. Robert’s style is to cram dozens of slides into a 60-minute session, so the information comes fast and furious. Highlights included: 2015 was the second best year for the workers’ compensation industry since the great recession, but profit figures are still less than pre-recession levels. Property /
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