The keynote speakers for Breakout for Agents at the 2016 WCI Conference were Mark Walls, Vice President Communications & Strategic Analysis at Safety National and Kimberly George, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, M&A and Healthcare at Sedgwick. They discussed the state of the workers’ compensation marketplace and significant issues impacting workers compensation.  State of the market – For the first time since NCCI started tracking industry combined ratios, workers’ compensation has been profitable for three consecutive years. This is due to the combination of better underwriting and increased rates over several years. Interest rates remain low so carriers are still challenged
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Startling statistics, trends and illustrations reveal an undeniable prescription drug problem in the United States. This session at WCI’s 2016 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference focused on chronic pain management, including alternative and advanced treatment methods being used to alleviate pain and restore quality of life among those who have become ill or have been injured on the job. Speakers included: Dr. Teresa Bartlett, Senior Vice President, Medical Quality, Sedgwick Michael Gavin, CEO, Prium Dr. Eric Won, President, Brain Research Laboratory   Opioids and other powerful narcotics are often the first line of defense in addressing chronic pain among injured or
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“Comp Talks 2016” featured three women in risk management who discussed their formulas for success in developing and maintaining winning risk management programs. The speakers for this 2016 WCI session included: Moderator: Joe Picone, CPCU, AIC, Claim Consulting Practice Leader, Willis Towers Watson, Glen Allen, VA Panel: Michele Adams, Vice President, Risk Management Services, Walt Disney World Resort Tara L. Acton, Director – Claims & Senior Corporate Counsel, CenturyLink Marti Dickman, VP Risk Management, Advanced Disposal Michelle Adams presented “Creating an Award Winning Risk Management Program.” One of the things that distinguish their program at Disney is their understanding of
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Quality healthcare is an important component to injury recovery and return to work. The right care from the right provider at the right time has been shown to produce positive outcomes for both the employer and the injured worker. This session at WCI’s Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference explored what quality healthcare truly means and offered suggestions on how to implement it within existing programs. Speakers included: – Denise Algire, Director of Managed Care and Disability, The Albertsons Companies – Linda Van Dillen, Chief Communications Officer, CompAlliance Managed Care – Kylanne Green, CEO, URAC Businesses today are actively seeking ways to
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The speaker for this 2016 WCI session was Normagene Dmytriw, CPSI, CPLP, Senior Safety and Occupational Health Specialist, Broward County Government, Risk Management Safety and Occupational Health Section. This presentation discussed the five critical steps needed for an effective safety training program. Safety training is an investment that when done well, improves the overall safety of the workforce, resulting in fewer accidents, incidents, and workers’ compensation claims. In order for safety training to deliver a high value to an organization and to its workers, it must be a comprehensive program. The five steps in an effective safety training program are a
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Claims management is a data-driven business. In this session at WCI’s 2016 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference, panelists highlighted the outlook related to data for managing workers’ compensation programs. Speakers included: – Scott Rogers, Executive Vice-President, Operations, Sedgwick – Dr. Adam Seidner, National Medical Director, Travelers – Cliff Belliveau, Vice President, Business Intelligence, myMatrixx Insurance carriers, TPAs and service providers are embracing big data strategies to improve both experience and outcomes. The key to creating effective operational solutions is isolating and harnessing the data and information needed to achieve performance. The amount of data available today, and the technology that allows
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It is interesting and also imperative to look beyond today’s service demands and activities and project well into the future to anticipate needs and opportunities in the years ahead. We heard from the leaders of three leading third party administrator claims organizations. They are also the three immediate past keynote speakers from the WCI conference. Each presented visionary viewpoints on what they believe will be the most significant developments in our industry. Speakers for this session at the 2016 WCI conference were: Moderator: Charles F. Martin, Managing Director, Marsh – Global Claim Practice, National Claim Practice Leader, Chief Claim Officer,
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Workers’ compensation has come under the public eye in a very negative way. Yet, there really are success stories and other vignettes where workers’ compensation did work, where people did recover and were provided all that the law allows and more. So how does the industry put its best foot forward? This session at WCI’s 2016 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference examined how the industry can show the positive face of workers’ compensation. Speakers included: Melissa A. Dunn, Vice President and Managing Director, Helmsman Management Services Rebecca Shafer, President, AMAXX Risk Solutions, Inc. Michael Grabell, Journalist, ProPublica Richard Victor, Senior Fellow,
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This session at WCI’s 2016 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference highlighted program strategies from the three winners of the 2016 Excellence in Workers’ Compensation Risk Management Award. SMS Holdings Corporation SMS Holdings provides full housekeeping services for large locations like airports, stadiums and malls. They created a nationwide safety program called Stop. Think. Act. They specifically chose a relatable term for employees, rather than a confusing insurance term, and branded items like posters and wristbands to distribute company wide. They have a multilingual workforce, so it was important to translate the safety message for all employees and relied on direct supervisors
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This 2016 WCI session’s speaker was Bob Patterson, MPT, MBA, CAE, Executive Vice President/Co-Founder, Briotix Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA. Pre-employment, post-offer (PEPO) candidate testing has proven to be an effective means of reducing incidence rates and workers’ compensation costs. This session highlighted the nature of this risk management tool with regard to legal issues, implementation strategies, expected outcomes, clinical relevance, and a review of some case studies. Mr. Patterson discussed PEPO and its relevancy.  Some of the reasons a company would want a PEPO testing are that the company might be experiencing the following: High injury rates High turnover Increased
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