Quote of the day
"We've been really pleased so far with, I guess, how the culture of the system has been changed. It is too early to tell yet whether what was done worked. But on the positive side, I think people are really trying."
Rick Levy, legal director of the Texas AFL-CIO, about the state's overhauled workers' compensation system
San Diego Contractor Cops to Misleading State Fund
A San Diego contractor pleads guilty to lying to the California State Compensation Insurance Fund about the number of workers on his payroll, in order to get lower workers’ compensation insurance premiums. KGTV (San Diego)
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Liberty Mutual, FSIM Announce Partnership
A partnership between Liberty Mutual Alternative Markets and Food Service Insurance Managers will provide workers compensation insurance to California employers with premiums of $50,000 or higher. Workers’ Comp Executive
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One Year Later, Lone Star Workers See Few Changes
In the year after Texas lawmakers approved an overhaul of the Lone Star State’s workers’ compensation system in the only state that doesn’t require employers to provide workers’ comp, officials have revamped operations and drafted new rules. But most injured employees still haven’t seen changes in how their injuries are treated. By Maria M. Perotin, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
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Most Mountain State Employers to See Comp Rates Drop
West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Jane Cline announces a decrease of about 9.5 percent in workers’ compensation rates for the “vast majority” of West Virginia employers. The new loss costs will be effective for workers’ compensation insurance policies effective July 1. By George Hohmann, Charleston Daily Mail
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Hospital Association, Union Differ on Ohio BWC’s New Payment Plan
An Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation plan to overhaul payments for treating injured workers “worsens past mistakes by forcing hospitals into a take-it-or-leave-it reimbursement methodology that will pay less and cost much more,” declares the Ohio Hospital Association. But a healthcare workers’ union disagrees and says the plan would be good for employers, workers and the bureau. By Alan Johnson, Columbus Dispatch
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Ohio Doctor Gets Life for Lethal Insurance Fraud
An Akron, Ohio-area doctor is sentenced to life in prison for committing health care fraud that resulted in the deaths of two patients. Prosecutors say the 54-year-old doctor prescribed drugs including OxyContin, Zoloft and Valium to people already addicted to drugs. He then billed Medicare, Medicaid, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and private health insurance plans for the injections. By AP via Akron Beacon Journal
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Empire State Town Stays in County’s Self-Insurance Plan
A last-minute compromise keeps North Elba, N.Y. from withdrawing from the county self-insurance fund for workers’ compensation. A town supervisor had complained that the annual premium was too high. By Lohr McKinstry, Press Republican (Plattsburgh, N.Y.)
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Consultant: Dropping Wellness Plans Shortsighted
Although many companies have dropped wellness programs in recent years as they turn to managed care health insurance plans, managing health-care costs is one reason wellness programs make economic sense. In addition, they can cut absenteeism, job-related injuries, workers’ compensation and disability-management costs. By Miriam Sims, St. Louis Business Journal
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Opinion: Delaware Comp System ‘Out of Whack’
Only trial lawyers are happy with Delaware’s notorious workers’ compensation system, which is so expensive compared to neighboring states that it is a powerful incentive for businesses to relocate. The state labor secretary should reconvene the workers’ compensation advisory council, which has opposed pending legislation that would regulate and lower annual comp premiums. News Journal (Wilmington, Del.)
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