Quote of the day
"I just wait for it to show up and rejoice. It'll be a bump to the pension plan. Our workers will benefit."
Todd Hess, president of the Oregon-Columbia Chapter of the Associated General Contractors, whose members will receive $12.3 million in retrospective returns on insurance premiums paid to SAIF Corp. last year
Go to the full story in the Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland)
Mass. Man Who Faked Robbery Charged with Workers’ Comp Fraud
A Gardner, Mass., man who pleaded guilty to faking the robbery of a gas station he managed now faces charges of fraudulently obtaining workers’ compensation benefits as a result of facial injuries he suffered during the incident. The 30-year-old allegedly confessed that he had a friend punch him in the face, in order to fool police into believing a robbery had taken place. By George Barnes, Worcester Telegram [with photo] Go to the Full Story…
Colleague’s Horseplay Costs Bay State Dispatcher Disability Pension
A Massachusetts appellate court denies accidental disability retirement benefits to a Brockton police dispatcher who injured her right wrist and elbow because of the horseplay of a fellow employee. The court said that a public employee injured at work may be entitled to workers’ compensation but not to accidental disability benefits for the same injury. Boston Globe
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Oregon: AGC Members to Get Biggest Payback in Its 18-Year History
Contractors insured under the Oregon-Columbia Chapter of the Associated General Contractors workers’ compensation group policy will receive $12.3 million in retrospective returns on the insurance premiums they paid to Oregon’s SAIF Corp. last year. By Libby Tucker, Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland)
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Commentary: Privatization Lets West Virginia Join Rest of the U.S.
When West Virginia’s privatization process began, the state was one of only five states to provide workers’ compensation insurance exclusively through a state fund. Comparing the state’s provision of workers’ comp to BrickStreet’s highlights the superior ability of the private sector to supply goods and services. By Matt Ryan, State Journal
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Express Scripts Completes Acquisition of Pharmacy Benefit Manager
Express Scripts announces that it has finished its $248 million acquisition of the workers’ compensation pharmacy benefit management business of privately held Medical Services Co. from Monitor Clipper Partners, a private equity investment firm. By Kelsey Volkmann, St. Louis Business Journal
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AmerisourceBergen Sells PMSI Workers’ Comp Unit to HIG Capital
HIG Capital LLC, a private equity investment firm based in Miami, has a definitive agreement to buy PMSI from Valley Forge, Pa.-based AmerisourceBergen Corp. for as much as $50 million. Tampa-based PMSI is AmerisourceBergen’s workers’ compensation business unit that provides specialty managed care services and productions for workers’ comp and the catastrophically injured.
Go to the full story in the Tampa Bay Business Journal
Go to the full story in the Philadelphia Business Journal
A Case for Reform of Sierra Leone’s Workers’ Comp System
A cursory survey of reasons adduced for hospital visits in Sierra Leone over the last few decades shows an inordinately large percentage attributed to work-related injuries and diseases. Here is a case for reform of the African nation’s workers’ compensation/employer liability system. By Kortor Kamara, Patriotic Vanguard
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