Quote of the day
“I can understand why many of the respondents reported that they would not recommend this career to anyone else. As practitioners, much of our time is spent on burdensome paperwork required from health insurers for our services to be paid for. This prevents us from spending as much time on patient care as we would like, and it doesn’t take much for all this paperwork to interfere with the services that we provide.”
Dr. Shannon Ginnan, medical director, Aimed Alliance
Workers’ comp rates in Ohio could be cut by an average 20 percent
The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has proposed a 20 percent cut in the average premium rate, in what could be its largest cut in nearly 60 years. The bureau’s board of directors meets February 22. If the rate cut is approved by the agency’s board, it would be effective July 1 and would save private employers $244 million over premiums for fiscal year 2019. Dayton Daily News
Survey finds physician frustration over health insurance red tape
A new study that polled 600 physicians in the U.S. practicing either family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, or obstetrics/gynecology finds that nearly nine in ten believe barriers set by insurance plans have led to worsened conditions for patients in need of care. Prior authorizations are especially bothersome for doctors. StudyFinds
Bill would add cancers to Virginia workers’ comp coverage
Proposed Republican-sponsored legislation in Virginia would add brain, testicular and colon cancers to the list of presumed occupational diseases covered by the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act. The bill also advocates for reducing the obstacles for those affected to prove the job caused their cancer. According to the Firefighter Cancer Support Network, firefighters have a 14 percent higher risk of dying from cancer than the general U.S. population. NBC 12 (Richmond, Va.)
Washington: New bill would throw added costs onto salon, barbershop workers
A bill in the Washington legislature would take away protections salon booth renters currently have and make them pay into unemployment, workers’ compensation and increased business and operation taxes. Supporters say it would help level the playing field and have one universal standard rather than two different rules for people working in the same space; but it’s getting pushback from salon workers because of the costs. KIMA (Yakima, Wash.) [with video]