Are employees injured at work more likely to file under workers’ compensation instead of group health insurance when their group health plan has a higher deductible? The Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) found evidence they do in a new study it says has great relevance since the number of workers in health insurance plans with high deductibles is growing. “In…
Injured miners and construction workers are in the occupations most likely to receive an opioid prescription, the study shows. Injured workers living in “rural” or “very rural” areas were up to 25% more likely than urban injured workers to receive opioid painkillers. Injured workers in rural areas are more likely to receive prescriptions for opioids, a new study shows. The…
The National Council of Insurance Legislators is in the early planning stages of possibly creating a model law on workers compensation drug formularies, the organization’s spokesman confirmed on Friday. Details on the proposed NCOIL Workers’ Compensation Drug Formulary Model Act are included in NCOIL’s spring meeting agenda, provided to Business Insurance. The meeting is set for March 14-17 in Nashville…
A large number of employers not regulated by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s electronic record-keeping rule are voluntarily submitting data to the agency, but they should refrain from doing so in the future because that information could be used against them in OSHA enforcement actions, according to attorneys representing employers. The electronic record-keeping regulation, formally known as the…
A bill introduced Thursday in the Illinois Senate would amend the state’s current Workers Compensation Act to begin compensation almost immediately for seriously injured volunteer, paid-on-call or part-time firefighters, emergency medical technicians or paramedics. S.B. 1219, introduced by Illinois state Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Moline, would amend the current law to allow for coverage of total temporary incapacity to commence the…
An insurer is suing a man who allegedly resisted arrest in Northlake, as the insurer seeks to collect reimbursement of workers’ compensation benefits paid to an officer who was injured in the incident. The Illinois Public Risk Fund, through the Northlake Police Department, filed a complaint on Feb. 1 in Cook County Circuit Court against John A. Cottone, alleging the…
The Chicago City Council voted Wednesday to give up control of the city's troubled, $100 million-a-year workers' compensation program. The Council's Finance Committee, which for years had controlled the compensation program under the watch of Chairman Ed Burke, voted Tuesday to restructure the program under the Finance Department in the executive branch, and bring more accountability and transparency to it. On…
Value-based care, political party changes in several states, and a more holistic view of patient injuries will impact the workers’ compensation industry this year, according to two experts hosting a workers’ compensation webinar series, Out Front Ideas. Mark Walls, vice president for communications and strategic analysis with Safety National, and Kimberly George, chief healthcare officer for Sedgwick, kicked off the…
Value-based care, party changes in several states, as well as a holistic view when it comes to patient injuries will have a significant impact on the workers’ compensation industry this year, according to hosts of the Out Front Ideas webinar series, Mark Walls and Kimberly George. The two workers’ comp industry experts continue their monthly webinar series, kicking off the…
A Republican Indiana state representative has introduced a bill that would increase maximum fines for a workplace safety violation that results in death, to $100,000 from $7,000. Rep. Martin Carbaugh, R-Fort Wayne, introduced House Bill 1341 on the anniversary of the death of Shacarra Hogue, a 23-year-old factory worker who died after she was crushed by a press that the…
