Quote of the day
"Our goal is very simple. We want everyone exposed to the deadly toxins monitored and everyone who is sick treated."
New York State Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, at a Saturday rally at the World Trade Center site on Saturday
Reforms Focus on Quick Return-to-Work, Not Retraining
California’s workers’ compensation reforms wiped out vocational rehabilitation, replacing it with a voucher that can be used for training that is issued only after a case is settled. The philosophy now is to help an injured employee return to work quickly instead of paying for retraining or counseling. By Allison Bruce, Ventura County Star
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Widow Remembers Slain Workers’ Comp Attorney’s Many Talents
Jay BloomBecker, the Harvard Law-educated former prosecutor, computer expert and workers’ compensation attorney found shot to death last week in his Santa Cruz office, may have been the victim of a disgruntled client. By Jondi Gumz, Santa Cruz Sentinel
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Protestors Draw Attention to Long-Term Health Effects of Sept. 11
More than 200 first responders, union members and politicians rally at Ground Zero on Saturday to protest the government’s response to the health effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and to demand comprehensive care for those possibly sickened by the World Trade Center wreckage. The city’s workers’ compensation system has been target for its strict two-year filing deadline. By Damien Cave, New York Times via Rochester Press Democrat
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‘Summertime Blues’ in the Coachella Valley
The cost of workers’ compensation is one factor in the decision that many Coachella Valley business owners face each summer: to stay open or to shut down. By Sandra Clark, Desert Sun (Palm Springs)
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Ohio BWC Slashes Hospital Reimbursement Rates
The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Oversight Committee endorses a program that will pay hospitals what Medicare would pay for a patient’s treatment—the actual cost—plus 15 percent, an arrangement agency officials expect will save the BWC far more than their original projection of $60 million annually. By Catherine Candisky, Columbus Dispatch
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Commentary: Ohio’s GOP Chief’s ‘Absurd’ Conspiracy Theory
Ohio Republican Party chairman Bob Bennett’s claim that the trial of Tom Noe, the former GOP fundraiser indicted for looting millions of dollars form the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s rare coin fund, is being delayed for political reasons is absurd: Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Tom Osowik agreed to the delay because Noe’s lawyers wanted it. Toledo Blade
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County Combats Rising Rates with Safety Culture
With workers’ compensation costs skyrocketing, self-insured Montgomery County, Pa., has been working since 2004 to reduce injuries suffered by county employees both in the workplace and at home, and has reduced injury accidents 20 percent. By Margaret Gibbons, Times Herald (Norristown, Pa.)
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Commentary: New York Lawmakers Don’t Deserve a Vacation Yet
The New York State Legislature should actually accomplish something significant before the 2006 session ends: in particular, nothing has been done yet about workers’ compensation and liability reform. Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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A.M. Best Affirms SeaBright’s ‘Excellent’ Financial Strength Rating
A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a-” of SeaBright Insurance Company, of Seattle. Workers’ Comp Executive
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