The enactment of tort reform legislation in Florida leads this week’s Top 10. Also of note: The U.S. private insurance industry’s net underwriting loss in 2022 was up more than six-fold from the previous year. Source link
Studies released Thursday by the Workers Compensation Research Institute show how the adoption of drug formularies in five states affected workers compensation costs. The studies looked at the effect of formularies on prescription drug utilization and associated costs in the Arkansas, California, Indiana, Kentucky and New York comp systems. All five states adopted prescription drug …
Introduction of drug formularies sheds light on comp costs Read More »
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has vacated a citation and $53,976 in fines issued to a mechanical contractor after a worker was seriously injured in a fall from a scaffold at a job site in Point Comfort, Texas. The commission, in a ruling published Wednesday, found the Occupational Safety and Health Administration …
A bill proposed in Louisiana would repeal the state provision that an employer and their workers compensation insurer are not required to pay for medical marijuana for injured workers. H.B. 351, introduced Wednesday and sent to committee, would set parameters for workers who receive recommendations to use medical marijuana for treatment. The bill mostly addresses …
Medical marijuana bill would clear way for reimbursement Read More »
A bill that would provide supplemental health care services and salary benefits to first responders diagnosed with certain mental conditions was introduced Wednesday in North Carolina’s House of Representatives. H.B. 523 would create a mental health care benefits plan as a supplemental insurance policy that would provide reimbursement of up to $5,000 per 12-month period …
North Carolina considers enhancing mental health for first responders Read More »
The Ohio Supreme Court has reversed a ruling by the state’s 10th District Court of Appeals that sided with a company that provides in-home care to developmentally disabled individuals who asserted that its workers are independent contractors and not employees. The high court Monday, in reversing the appeals court, sent the case back to the …
Ohio high court reverses in assisted living employee vs. contractor case Read More »
An Ocala, Florida-based framing contractor is facing $464,079 in proposed fines by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration over alleged continued safety violations, the fines coming three years after a roofing employee fell to his death. OSHA on Tuesday announced the citations against Domingos 54 Construction Inc. for three willful violations and one repeat …
Framing contractor again cited three years after fatality Read More »
The price of prescription drugs used in workers compensation cases grew at an annual rate of 3.7% average over a nine-year period, which was offset by a 6% decline in the volume of prescriptions, according to a research paper published Tuesday by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. Analyzing data from 2012 to 2021, NCCI …
Increase in comp prescription costs offset by lower volume Read More »
Texas lawmakers have introduced bills that would require the Division of Workers’ Compensation to conduct contested case hearings telephonically or by videoconference in some instances. H.B. 4214 and companion measure S.B. 1640, both introduced this month and sent to committees, would require the state to adopt rules allowing remote case hearings upon mutual agreement of …
Texas considering bills to allow for remote comp hearings Read More »
PHOENIX – Inflation, labor shortages in the health care industry and unknown costs related to long COVID-19 are some of the prime concerns in the workers compensation sector in 2023, according to experts. States that have controls in place to limit injured worker claims costs will likely fare better on medical claims than states without …
Rising medical costs, long COVID raise comp concerns Read More »