Quote of the day
“As we continue to dedicate resources to battle health care and opioid fraud schemes in Texas and elsewhere, we are shining an inescapable light on dirty doctors, clinic owners, pharmacists, and others who may have long believed they could perpetrate their frauds behind closed doors.”
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski, Justice Department
Washington L&I proposes drop in workers’ comp rates
For the third straight year, Washington Department of Labor & Industries is proposing a drop in workers’ comp rates. The agency this week released details for a 0.8-percent decrease in the average premium paid by employers beginning in 2020. KGMI (Bellingham, Wash.)
Justice Department indicts Texas physicians in healthcare scheme
Two Dallas-area doctors who allegedly ordered medically unnecessary compound creams are among 58 people who have been charged in the state with scamming $66 million from the nation’s health care system. The “takedown” targeted opioid pill mills, Medicare fraud, federal workers’ compensation fraud and illegal schemes focused on the military’s healthcare program. Dallas Morning News
Missouri: Workers’ comp covers fall at doctor’s office
A woman who was treated for exposure to ant spray in the workplace, then injured her knee at the doctor’s office while being treated, qualifies for permanent total disability, a Missouri appellate court has ruled. Missouri Lawyers
Ohio: Marietta-area employers to get $14.4 million from Ohio BWC
The Mid-Ohio Valley Safety Council will get a $14.4 million share of a $1.5 billion dividend being paid out by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, the state agency announced Wednesday. WTAP (Parkersburg, W.V.) [with video]
Judge orders Goodyear to pay more than $6.7M for tire-related fatality
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has been ordered to pay more than $6.7 million in damages in connection with the death of a garbage truck driver who was killed in February 2014 when a tire he was inflating exploded. A Louisiana judge ruled the company failed to adequately warn Plaquemines Parish, which employed the worker, that an under-pressurized tire might explode during inflation. Fox Business