Quote of the day
"It went completely from whatever the physician said ... to giving the company complete control of the medical (treatment).''
Carrie Nevans, acting administrative director of the Division of Workers' Compensation, about utilization review
DWC Tries Again to Punish Utilization Review Delays
In its third attempt to do so, the Division of Workers’ Compensation releases a set of proposals to penalize companies that delay reviewing physician-ordered medical treatments for injured workers. Division officials have estimated that 30,000 injured Californians may be affected annually by unfair delays or denials in the utilization review process. By Tom Abate, San Francisco Chronicle
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Three Busted in Sunshine State for Comp Fraud
Three individuals face charges of fraud and conspiracy for allegedly providing hundreds of workers with falsified worker’s compensation insurance certificates to more than 300 Florida construction contractors. U.S. Labor Department investigators call it the first such worker’s compensation fraud case ever brought in Florida.
Go to the full story by Curt Anderson, AP via Bradenton Herald
Go to the full story by Ruth Morris, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Tennessee Program Has Collected $300K in Penalties
The Tennessee Workers Compensation Penalty Program, which was created in response to the 2004 Workers’ Compensation Reform Act, has collected close to $300,000 dollars in penalties from insurance carriers and employers since its creation. WMC-TV
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Concentra to Sell Workers’ Comp Managed Care Services
Texas-based healthcare provider Concentra Inc. plans to sell its workers’ compensation managed care services business to Bethesda, Md.-based health insurer Coventry Health Care Inc. for $387.5 million, the company announces. Washington Business Journal
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Mountain State Woman Alleges Retaliation
A Monongalia County, W.V., woman sues HealthSouth claiming she was fired because she filed for workers’ compensation in connection with a hand injury. The suit alleges she was fired without anyone discussing with her any reasonable accommodation for her injury. By Cara Bailey, West Virginia Record
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Unshackle Upstate: Not Exactly Ringing Praise for Spitzer
The chief of New York’s “Unshackle Upstate” initiative, a business coalition that has been locked in a battle with labor unions over a workers’ compensation overhaul, calls newly-elected Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s initial policies “less offensive” than those of past administrations. By Jeff Platsky, Press & Sun Bulletin (Binghamton, N.Y.)
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Jockeys’ Guild Tries to Spur Comp Coverage for Kentucky Riders
The Jockeys’ Guild is launching federal and state legislative agendas aimed at improving pay and other benefits for riders, including reintroducing legislation in Kentucky that would cover jockeys under the state’s workers’ compensation system. Thoroughbred Times
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