Quote of the day
"The recently added financial members of the Oversight Commission are micro-managing the investments, tying the hands of the current administrator and resulting in less-than-adequate returns on investments."
Report by Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland's advisers on the state Bureau of Workers' Compensation's oversight board
Nurse Cites Purported Constitutional Right to Pain Avoidance
A suit filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by a registered nurse against the acting director of the California Department of Industrial Relations challenges a “penalty loophole,” purportedly created by SB 899, in the California workers’ compensation system. Topix.net
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Federal Report Slams Contra Costa County Hospital
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sends Contra Costa County a 114-page document detailing problems found at the county’s Regional Medical Center and threatens to cancel the hospital’s $300 million annual funding. The September inspection found continued violence in its psychiatric unit, unsanitary food handling practices, and medication errors. By Sandy Kleffman, Contra Costa Times
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Report Blasts Ohio BWC Oversight Board
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland’s team of volunteer advisers, which is studying how to improve state government, slams the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s oversight board for “micro-managing” investments and other alleged failures to accomplish its mission. By John McCarthy, AP via Cincinnati Enquirer
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Rhode Island Gov Makes Changes at Beacon
Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri, who has vowed to overhaul the leadership of Beacon Mutual Insurance Co., the state’s dominant workers’ compensation insurer, replaces two labor-backed Democrats on the nine-member board with two other union leaders.
Go to the full story by Lynn Arditi, Providence Journal
Go to the full story in the Providence Business News
Delaware Bill Moves Forward
A 31-page Senate bill that could save Delaware employers up to $43 million annually in workers’ compensation insurance premiums clears a Senate committee Thursday and is scheduled for a vote by the full chamber tomorrow. The fee schedule would eliminate “outliers,” charges far higher than the average of the medical community’s charges. By Drew Volturo, Delaware State News via Newszap.com
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Delaware Reform Bill Would Make Deliberations Private
Delaware’s Senate minority leader complains about wording in a workers’ compensation reform bill that would bar the public from the deliberations of the Health Care Advisory Panel, which will set fees and protocols for doctors who treat injured workers, but says he will support it anyway as an improvement over the current system. By Patrick Johnson, News Journal (Wilmington, Del.)
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