Title: Cofounders, Roxborough, Pomerance, Nye & Adreani

Veritable pit bulls, both Roxborough and Pomerance have aggressively represented the employer community against predatory practices of insurance carriers. These include workers’ comp carriers, especially State Compensation Insurance Fund, where they’ve been particularly active in holding it accountable for its practices. Notable among their victories are the $20 million jury verdict secured against State Compensation Insurance Fund in a bad-faith dispute and the $1.1 million award in the Palm Medical case enforcing fair procedure rights on State Fund. Roxborough attended Southwestern School of Law and got his undergraduate degree from University of California, Berkeley. Pomerance received his undergrad degree from University of California, Berkeley, and attended Hastings College of Law.

What are the top three issues in California workers’ comp today?  
They continue to be how carriers handle claims and how carriers disclose what they’re going to charge to policyholders.

It’s no longer a question of if but when we enter a hard market, so what is in the future of State Compensation Insurance Fund? Will its market share climb back to historic levels? Do you think that further reforms are needed for the governance of State Fund, for example, does it make sense to have Senate confirmation for board members?  
I’m hoping that the future of SCIF is better than its past. It has not served the policyholders of the state of California how it was intended. With more turnover and a more realistic view of how to serve policyholders, it will operate more how it was designed—as a carrier of last resort for policyholders.

Are medical provider networks a help or a hindrance? How should they be improved?  
If done correctly—if not abused—they are a help. They need to adhere to the fair procedure doctrine I helped lay down in the Palm Medical case.

What do you see, other than medical, as the next big cost driver?  
Medical is by far the biggest cost driver. I don’t know what would be the next one.

Now that the federal health care bill has become law, what impact, if any, do you see that having on workers’ compensation and do you have any concerns?  
That’s a question I have, and we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out.

How can insurance companies improve their track record with workers’ comp policyholders?  
They can do a better job handling claims and be more responsive to them, and they can tell [policyholders] in advance what they're going to charge and how they'll compute it, and not be deceitful about that.