Predicting COVID-19’s impact on the workers’ compensation and auto markets is a fluid exercise, as the impact felt will vary by company. However, much will be based on when and how we as a nation resume life post-pandemic. Here are the trends I’m currently observing: Unemployment is skyrocketing: US unemployment claims soared to 6.648 million
I was stunned to read in a recent WorkCompCentral article (subscription required) that only 38 of the 63 firms currently providing workers’ compensation utilization review (UR) services in California are URAC accredited. Per California Senate Bill 1160, the deadline for mandatory accreditation was July 1, 2018. WorkCompCentral’s reported figures on July 9 mean that 40
Recently, we were researching the likely impact of an MPN (Medical Provider Network) implementation for a client in California. The data can vary dramatically depending upon the client and region of the state. The California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) issued a Research Report in early June regarding the impact of physician networks in California Workers’ Comp.
Last week, I shared my thoughts in Risk & Insurance on the hot debate ignited by the recent ProPublica/NPR series, “The Demolition of Workers’ Compensation.” While I focused on “big-picture” questions that we must ask ourselves as we examine the points raised, I did want to follow up with some additional commentary. The authors took
I found this article very interesting on Return-to-Work (RTW) in the workers’ compensation environment. Most would agree that the goal is to get employees back to work at pre-injury status or maximum improvement (MMI). Easier said than done however, and there are varying levels of success. The fact that one third of employees that return
Those of us doing this for a while are very familiar with the use of steroid injections to treat carpal tunnel. Swedish researchers have found that, although this may provide some short-term relief, longer-term repair still usually requires surgery.
A growing trend in our industry is “Physician Dispensing.” This is when a medical provider sells the drugs from their office instead of writing a prescription and sending them to the pharmacy. Some companies will go to physician offices and set up “vending machines” with the most common drugs to be sold. Then physicians get
