Taking care of injured workers is fundamental to our social fabric. Unfortunately, the economics and politics of workers’ compensation have become supersized and the methods by which we deliver injured worker care are outdated.
In 2013, approximately $40 billion will be spent by employers nationally on workers’ compensation insurance premiums. Actual workers’ compensation costs in the United States are much higher when you consider uninsured claims (within deductibles or self-insured retentions) and other expenses, not the least of which is lost productivity. Read more…
The Beginnings of Structured Settlements
Currently an estimated $5 billion industry, structured settlements were once considered too risky because tax implications for insurers and claimants hadn’t been ironed out.
According to Peter Arnold, deputy director of the National Structured Settlements Trade Association (NSSTA) based in Washington D.C., the creation of a federal tax code recognizing structured settlement annuities 30 years ago paved the way for the increased use of structured settlements in bodily injury claims negotiations today. Read more…
Despite State Court Order, NJ Federal Court Finds Plaintiff Responsible for Conditional Payments
On June 12, 2013, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey published its opinion in Taransky v. Sebelius, finding that the Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over Ms. Taransky’s “due process” and “proportionality” claims, as Ms. Taransky failed to administratively exhaust these claims. Additionally, the Court concluded that despite state trial court’s order on a stipulation allocating settlement recovery to non-medical expenses, Ms. Taransky received payment from a “primary plan” responsible for payment of her medical expenses that had been covered by Medicare. As a result, Ms. Taransky is required to reimburse Medicare $10,121.15 pursuant to the MSP Act. Read more…
News From LexisNexis
Industry Bloggers Debate the Workers’ Compensation System
“At the recent California Coalition on Workers’ Compensation 11th Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA, industry bloggers Mark Walls (Work Comp Analysis Group on LinkedIn), Robert Rassp (The Rassp Report), Rebecca Shafer (ReduceYourWorkersComp), David DePaolo (DePaolo’s Work Comp World), and Roberto Ceniceros (Comp Time) participated in a spirited debate on how we can improve the workers’ compensation, what needs to be changed, and how to achieve those goals.
The “Bloggers’ View of the Workers’ Comp World” consisted of about 55 minutes of the panel interacting at the prompting of Mark Walls. Mark started by asking Roberto Ceniceros about the hottest issue in workers’ comp today, and Ceniceros responded by saying the op-out program in Oklahoma is being watched by other states” Read more…
Impact of Florida Law Targeting Physician-Dispensed Opioids: Results Show More Reform Required
“The latest report on Florida from the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) is a trifecta in the sense that it addresses topics that arguably are the current “top three” workers’ compensation drug-related issues:
· Overuse of opioids by workers’ compensation claimants;
· “Pill mills” in the form of doctors liberally (and profitably) dispensing prescription medicines from their offices; and
· The impact of legislative reforms on workers’ compensation practices.”
Author Michael B. Stack, CPA, Director of Operations, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in employer communication systems and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. He is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
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