Risk roundup – Jay and Louise Norris of Colorado Health Insurance Insider host this week’s Cavalcade of Risk – it’s the Colorado nature edition. Congrats to the Norrises on their 5 year blogging anniversary and 10th issue hosting the Cavalcade.
Check the facts – At Comp Time, Roberto Ceniceros tells the
story of an insurer relying on a newspaper’s crime report as the basis for denying a claimant’s workers comp benefits. While this situation might seem like one that wouldn’t surface all that often, we’d make the case that it is a cautionary tale for anyone who is using social media as an investigative tool.
Culture of Caring – Dave DePaolo has an interesting post on how the culture of caring relates to a workplace where the turnover rates are high, like fast food joints. Is high-touch communication and an early return-to-work model as effective when turnover is 120%? We’d note that high turnover is not only an impediment to return to work, it’s no doubt also a factor in the number of injuries that occur. New, untrained workers have more injuries. The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that more than 40% of work-related injury claims are filed by workers who have been on the job for 12 months or less, and a NIOSH study found that employees 24 years old or younger are two times more likely to suffer a nonfatal injury than their older co-workers.
Medical Costs – In our last news roundup, we linked to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s recent report that average family benefits premiums are up 9%. Joe Paduda of Managed Care Matters offers his thoughts on why premiums are up so much when medical costs are flat.
Workplace Violence – Michael Fox of Jottings by an Employer’s Lawyer posts about OSHA’s new directive on procedures for investigating workplace violence complaints. He notes that two industry groups get singled out for particular focus: Healthcare and Social Service Settings and Late-Night Retail Settings.
Anniversary of Patel Memo – At Lexis-Nexis, Robin E. Kobayashi commemorates the 10 year anniversary of the Patel Memo. Bonus points to you if you know what the Patel memo is. Here is a clue: it launched an entire workers comp-related industry.
Case to watch – The EEOC is suing Texas-based BAE Systems for violating the ADA by firing a man who weighed 680 pounds. The man had worked at his job for 16 years and had logged good performance evaluations. The intersection of obesity and the ADA is one to watch.
When light duty runs off the rails Safety News Alert discusses a case of a worker who returned to work on light duty. While on light duty, he received partial disability benefits because the job didn’t pay as much as his previous position. But the employee had trouble getting along with his supervisor and asked to be laid off – which the employer granted. The employee then applied for full work comp benefits. Check out the court’s decision.
New blog Well, new to us. TexasM Mutual Insurance Company’s blog has been up and running for about 15 months now, but we just discovered it via our Twitter feed. There are some good posts, particularly some good safety information. Texas Mutual Insurance Company is the state’s leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance, with approximately 32 percent of the market. (And remember, Texas is a state where private employers can choose whether or not to carry workers’ compensation insurance coverage.)
Also of interest…
Cavalcade of Risk – The Terrorism, CyberWar, Floods, Bad Mortgages, Robberies, Investment Losses and Disease Edition of Cavalcade of Risk is hot off the press and posted by Jaan Sidorov at Disease Management Care Blog. Check it out!
Tribute to Workers – A few weeks ago, we made a 9/11 memorial post, which focused heavily on the event, the aftermath, and the losses. More recently, we came upon an excellent New York Times feature that focuses on portraits and stories of workers who are rebuilding the World Trade Center, the largest construction project in the United States. It’s a positive testament to the future, to resilience, and to some great American workers. The rebuilding effort has employed 3,200 workers. NYT features more about the WTC rebuilding project.
Student Athletes? – Jared Wade posts about how the NCAA Has Used the Term “Student-Athlete” to Avoid Paying Workers Comp Liabilities – part of a longer article that The Atlantic featured on college sports. Wade notes that, “For our purposes, however, the most interesting excerpt chronicles the how and the why of the NCAA’s creation and widespread promotion of the term “student-athlete.” According to Branch, the main reason that former NCAA head Walter Byers, in his own words, “crafted the term student-athlete” and soon made sure it was “embedded in all NCAA rules and interpretations” was because it was an excellent defense against being held liable for workers compensation benefits that those injured in athletic competition could seek.”
Prescription Drugs – NCCI has issued Workers Compensation Prescription Drug Study: 2011 UPDATE (PDF), a 31 page report. The key findings:
*The indicated Rx share of total medical is 19%; this is slightly higher than the estimate given in our 2010 update
*OxyContin climbs from the number 3 WC drug in Service Year 2008 to number 1 in Service Year 2009
*Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen drops from the top WC drug in Service Year 2008 to number 3 in Service Year 2009
*Recent overall cost increases are driven more by utilization increases than by price increases
*Physician dispensing continues to increase in Service Year 2009 in almost every state
*Increased physician dispensing is associated with increased drug costs per claim *Per-claim Rx costs vary significantly by state
At Managed Care Matters, Joe Paduda offers his educated observations on the pharmacy study.
Agricultural worker protections – Laura Walter of EHS Today writes about A Disposable Work Force: Farm Worker Advocates Push for Agricultural Worker Protections. Her article focuses on a new report published by the advocacy organization Farmworker Justice which criticizes the H-2A temporary guest work visa program. The report claims that it makes agricultural workers vulnerable to poor working conditions. Farm worker advocates argue that to improve these conditions, foreign agricultural workers should be able to seek legal immigration status.
Battle of the giants – In catching up on a backlog of blog reading, we find a post from Roberto Ceniceros’ Comp Time of great interest. It focuses on the battle of the giants chronicling the ongoing dispute between two workers’ comp behemoths, AIG and Liberty Mutual. The dispute is being fought in court, and now in the court of public opinion via dueling websites.
Hunt for misclassification is getting muscle – The Department of Labor and the IRS will be teaming up with other federal agencies and the labor departments of 11 states to share information that will help to track down employers that misclassify workers. For more on this, see Jon Gelman’s post, US Dept of Labor Moves Aggressively on Misclassification of Employees and Dave DePaolo’s post One Way to ID Scofflaw Employers: IRS Co Op
Social Media – The more we use Twitter, the more we like it – we’ve certainly come across some great users and learned about some great pointers and links to breaking news. One Twitter user we’ve found particularly helpful is Kyle Thill posting for @ToyotaEquipment, a forklift dealership from Minneapolis. With 15,000+ followers, he must be doing something right! Safety is one of the ongoing themes of his posts, so if that’s of interest to you, he’s a good Twitter user to follow. He also issues The #Safety Daily Update, which is a curated “newspaper” of web-related safety matters. It’s worth checking out.
Signs of life for the elusive hard market – At Terms + Conditions, Claire Wilkinson talks about an uptick in commercial insurance prices as reported by Tower Watson’s latest commercial lines pricing survey.
Administrative note – We’ve shut down comments due to an unbelievable flood of comment spam. We’re sorry about that – but we don’t have the time to deal with it. If we come up with any new magical solutions to curtail it (we’ve tried many) we may reinstate comments at a later time.
Nina Kallen hosts this week’s Cavalcade of Risk at Insurance Coverage Law in Massachusetts – check it out.
Other noteworthy new briefs:
Business Insurance has had a complete online overhaul – here’s a guide to the new BusinessInsurance.com
HealthLawProf Blog covers the intersection of pharmaceuticals and online media in a pair of recent posts worth checking out: Social Media and Drug Promotion and Do No Evil: Googling Canadian Drug Imports.
Roberto Ceniceros: Top 20 largest workers comp insurers
Dave DePaolo: The 5 Stages of Work Comp Death
Jon Gelman: What to Do During an Earthquake
Joe Paduda: Work comp claim reserves – not good, but not too bad either
Claims Journal: “Fraud Dog” to Bring Insurance Fraud Cases to Reality TV
MEMIC Safety Blog: The Bite Stuff: Dogs not always a worker’s best friend
Safety Daily Advisor: Are Your Exit Routes OSHA Compliant?
New York Times, Room for Debate: Could Farms Survive Without Illegal Labor?
Risk roundup – This week’s edition of Cavalcade of Risk – edition #135 – is being hosted by The Notwithstanding Blog. In that several countries celebrate their independence in the month of July, our host has a suitably related theme that may test the breadth of your geographic trivia. Oh, and there are some good posts this week, too!
Mark September 22 on your calendar now – Better yet, head on over to Business Insurance and register for Virtual Advantage 2011 – Workers Comp Trends & Cost Control Strategies. We’re very pleased that our own Tom Lynch will be participating on a blogger panel with three other blog luminaries: Roberto Ceniceros, Joe Paduda, and Mark Walls. There will also be a keynote by NCCI’s Harry Shuford, an expert panel on pharmaceutical cost controls for worker’s comp – and more. It’s a one-day virtual conference – and best of all – there is no charge to attend.
Presumption – And speaking of Mark Walls, congrats to him on his first column in Risk & Insurance. If you don’t know Mark by name, suffice it to say he is the powerhouse behind LinkedIn’s popular Work Comp Analysis Group. In Not all claims are created equal he talks about the thorny issue of presumption and how presumption laws fiddle with a basic tenet of the workers compensation pact: that the burden to prove an injury or illness “arose out of employment” falls to the employee.
Self Insurance – If the workers comp market continues to harden, as many are predicting, many employers might be looking to alternatives to the traditional insurance options. In Risk Management Magazine, Richard C. Frese, a consulting actuary from Milliman, tackles the topic in his article Does Your Self-Insured Program Need a Tune-Up?. It’s a good overview of what you need to know if you are considering the move.
Employment law – Attorney Phillip Miles posts a handy SCOTUS Employment Law Year in Review 2011 – a summary of cases with links for more information.
New blog discovery – check out Texas Mutual’s Blog. We particularly liked the recent post on The ABCs of new employee safety. This is an important issue – in their own claim analysis, they found that roughly 27% of job-related fatalities involve employees who have been on a new job for less than 90 days. They also cite the OSHA stat that 40% of all injured employees have been on the job for less than a year. They also note that “new employee” may not just be a new hire: “New employees include people who transfer to a new position, return to work after an extended absence, operate a new piece of equipment or implement a new procedure.” Check out the post for tips on this topic.
Wow of the week – a little off topic, but check out this amazing video of the massive haboob (dust storm) that hit Phoenix on July 5.
Briefs
- Opioids, deaths, and workers comp
- LAPD prescription drug abuse tied to disabilities
- Consumer Reports: Can you read this drug label?
- The 10 worst states for P&C insurers
- Safety tip sheet: Livestock handling
- Safety on the loading dock
We’re pleased to be hosting issue #134 of the Cavalcade of Risk. We kick off this issue with an excellent TED presentation by Bruce Schneier on The Security Mirage which talks about how the feeling of security and the reality of security don’t always match. He looks at why we spend billions addressing dramatic but rare risks that make headlines while neglecting more probable risks — and how we can break this pattern.
Schneier is a renowned security technologist and author with an excellent blog. Recently, Morgan Housel of The Motley Fool related the five cognitive biases that Scheir spoke about to lessons for investors.
Our regular roundup
This week, our blogger participants have submitted a tasty smorgasbod of entries on a variety of risk-related topics.
We start with a pair of posts by our fearless leader, Hank Stern, from InsureBlog. Have you heard about the growing practice of personal car sharing? Hank looks at the consumer risks associated with the newly expanding “peer to peer” car sharing services industry in his post Stupid Client Tricks: P & C Edition. It’s a great and informative post, but we would be remiss in leaving his blog without directing you to another post entitled Bark, Screech, Yowl. You’ll have to click through to see the topic but here’s an inducement to click: this post includes a video of a cat driving a car.
While on the topic of insurance, we have a pair of posts that look at other aspects of your personal coverage. For your auto coverage, Philip Taylor asks what’s the catch when it comes to Safe Driver Discounts in a post that examines the fine print of safe driver discounts. And do you know your financial exposure if your home should be destroyed in a disaster? At Canadian Finance Blog, Tom Drake asks if you have enough insurance on your home.
Speaking of disasters, we know that catastrophic weather events are expensive, but rain? At Risk Management Monitor, Jared Wade looks at the the high economic costs of routine weather events. And on the topic of everyday-weather-related risks, we point you to our recent post here at Workers Comp Insider on lightning and lightning strike survivors in what we call “the one in a million club you don’t want to join.”
Businesses & cyber exposure
At Terms + Conditions, Claire Wilkinson posts about the recent spate of cyber attacks, highlighting the exposure that many businesses face. (And we would note that you don’t have to be a bank or financial institution to have exposure. Note this recent item on how employers are vulnerable to a security breach by their own employees’ ignorance of phishing scams.)
Data risks are here to stay. At DePaolo’s Work Comp World , the topic is the convenience and risk of electronic records. He notes that the real real issue is the ease by which sensitive information may be obtained in large quantities, then analyzed and/or utilized for malicious purposes, and underscores the above point that employees rather than hackers likely constitute the biggest risk.
Healthcare related matters
How did one hospital address the increasing risk that nursing home patients will be transferred to a hospital for their end of life care? Jason Shafrin of The Healthcare Economist explores the issue in his post about maximizing utility for end-of-life care.
David Williams of Health Business Blog demonstrates the risk of being an early adapter of online services in his post about the disappearance of Google Health. He also offers a case study in physician risk in a post dissecting a medical malpractice defense related to a paraesophageal hiatal hernia repair and Nissen Fundoplication procedures.
Does providing user-friendly, patient-centric, clear, concise and objective information about the risks, benefits and alternatives of various treatment options enable consumers to choose wisely and forgo risky, dubious and expensive options. Jaan Sidorov posts about Health Advocacy Groups, Evidence-Based Medicine & Shared Decision Making at Disease Management Care Blog .
Safe retirement planning
Variable annuities are often promoted as a risk-free way to receive consistent retirement income. Kevin Mulligan of Retirement Planning Blog looks at the truth of the matter in his post on the risk of variable annuities.
If you plan to retire before Medicare kicks in, what are your healthcare coverage options? Free Money Finance looks at various ways to get retiree health insurance before the age of 65.
Assorted terrifying perils
For our final entry, Consumer Insurance Blog poses the most important question of the day: Are you ready for the Zombie Apocalypse? Find out before it’s too late.
That concludes this week’s edition – thanks to all submitters!
The next issue of Cavalcade of Risk is scheduled for July 13 at the Notwithstanding Blog – see you there!
Happy birthday, Cavalcade of Risk! – Russell Chatswood hosts the Fifth Anniversary Edition of Cavalcade of Risk – check it out. Russell is a New Zealander and among the Cavalcade’s posts is an update on the Christchurch earthquake claims from a report issued by New Zealand’s Investment Savings and Insurance Association (ISI).
New to our blogroll – DePaolo’s Work Comp Blog – by industry veteran Dave DePaolo, founder and CEO of WorkCompCentral.
When the bears win – In a post at Comp Time today, Roberto Ceniceros reports on a Utah appeals court ruling that upheld benefits for a light-duty employee who was fired for sending porno to colleagues via email. In citing the ruling, Ceniceros quotes The Stranger in the The Big Lebowski who said, “Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes, well, he eats you.” That is our nomination for our motto of the week.
Zombie style at the CDC – Have trouble getting your message heard by employers and employees? Maybe you need a new, attention-getting spin. Consumer Insurance Blog posts about how the CDC highlighted the importance of disaster and emergency planning by repackaging it as Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse. With this packaging, they went from a few thousand page views for normal posts to more than 1.2 million over the course a few days.
Cell phones & brain cancer – In reaction to the recent World Health Organization warnings about cancer and cell phones, Merril Goozner posts about the role that conflicted science plays. Also see Gary Schwitzer’s post: News release precedes release of evidence on new cell phone/brain cancer warning.
ADA Amendments Act – The final regulations issued by the EEOC to implement the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 became effective on May 24. The new regulations feature 9 “Rules of Construction” to help employers determine whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity. HR Daily Advisor offers a pair of posts to help employers plan for the changes: ADAAA Effective Tomorrow–Ready for Its 9 Rules of Construction? and ADAAA Effective Today–Steps Employers Should Take.
Cool tool – Objects falling from a height are a serious safety hazard – that’s why anyone working at a height should secure their tools. Tethers are a good way to do this. Hammerhead Industries offers a one page reference sheet: Tool Tether Guide (PDF)
Bus safety – At Risk Management Monitor, Jared Wade brings the news of another fatal bus crash which claimed the lives of 4 and injured more than 50. Driver fatigue is cited as the cause of the crash. Wade cites this as another instance highlighting the industry’s lack of oversight, and posts about other recent coverage on bus safety. He notes that there have been two stalled-in-Congress bills that have attempted to impose greater regulations: the Motor Coach Enhanced Safety Act and the Bus Uniform Standards and Enhanced Safety (BUSES) Act.
OSHA fines – from The Safety Blog, the Top 10 fines for construction companies. “In total in the 2010 fiscal year OSHA inspected 16,473 small construction companies and handed out 50,630 citations. These citations cost employers more than million or an average of about 0 a citation.”
Image via Wikipedia
Risk roundup – Check out this week’s Cavalcade of Risk.
Americans with Disabilities – This week’s must-read is Dan Reynold’s essay in Risk & Insurance: Disability in the Second Act. He says, “… it’s not that the amended act, which goes into effect on May 24, represents a new game. It’s that the amended act has returned the ADA to its original, intended scope.” The article offers advice for employers to prepare for the changes.
OSHA gets tough on distracted driving – If your employees are texting while driving, the stakes just got higher. Jon Gelman posts about OSHA’s plan to fine employers for distracted driving accidents. This is part of OSHA’s initiative to reduce transportation accidents, the top cause of worker fatalities. Gelman says, “OSHA will investigate motor vehicle accidents, including cell phone records, and will issue citations and fine employers where an accident involved texting while driving. While OSHA has jurisdiction over employers, and not employees, it hopes to encourage all employers to declare motor vehicles a “text free zone.” More information and resources at the OSHA Distracted Driving page.
Fraud – to paraphrase the common horror film trope, “the fraud is coming from inside the house. When people refer to workers comp fraud, more often than not they are talking about employees. But as we’ve noted many times, employer fraud such as misclassification, is also a huge and costly problem. There are other players too – such as doctor mills, dishonest agents, and this week, Roberto Ceniceros points to a fairly egregious example of TPA adjuster fraud.
Limits on comp for PTSD? – SafetyNewsAlert talks about legislative efforts to curb permanent workers’ comp coverage for mental distress. A bill that is currently under review in Maine is drawing opposition from first responders. Here’s more on the proposed Maine legislation.
Dangerous technologies – In the new and emerging health risks department, we bring you Facebook Depression. Add this to the many other emerging technology-related maladies: Blackberry Thumb, Cell Phone Elbow, IPod Ear.
News briefs
- Weekly Toll: Death in the American Workplace
- Kansas Governor Signs Workers’ Comp Reform Bill
- Here’s a Scary Fact: 75% of Substance Abusers Are Employed
- Prescription drug abuse: are you complicit?
- ACOEM Comments on Update of NIOSH Nanotechnology Strategic Plan for Research and Guidance
- 11 iPad Apps for meetings and presentations
- 200 largest companies CEO compensation report.
Ready for a bi-weekly grab-bag of risk-related reading? Jacob A. Irwin hosts Cavalcade of Risk # 127 – Riskiest Jobs Edition at My Personal Finance Journey.
Agents & Experience Mods – What role do insurance agents play in keeping a client’s workers’ comp losses as low as possible? In PropertyCasualty360, Kevin Ring of the Institute of WorkCompProfessionals offers Six Ways to Keep a Client’s Experience Mod Under Control.
Federalization – Over the years, talk about the impending federalization of workers comp has surfaced time and again. In recent years, with healthcare reform and a move to increased federal oversight of financial industries, talk of workers comp federalization has increased. Joe Paduda classifies this as a “never gonna happen” thing, and he makes his case in a four-part argument: part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4.
More charges filed in Upper Big Branch case – Ken Ward of Coal Tattoo reports that criminal charges were filed against a former Massey Energy employee who faked his certification to perform safety exams. Ward reports that “…he is the second person to be charged as part of what is said to be a broad federal criminal investigation of the explosion and safety practices at the Massey operation.” You can find more of Ken’s reporting in the archives of the Upper Big Branch Disaster.
Healthcare – Liz Borkowski of The Pump Handle looks at The Affordable Health Care Act’s first year and sees some disappointments but also great progress. Her post highlights a provisions that have already kicked in. And in another healthcare report, a new survey by Gallup reveals that there is a wide discrepancy in health coverage across U.S. metro areas. Nine of the ten most uninsured metro areas surveyed were in Texas and California; 8 out of the metro areas with the lowest percentage of uninsureds were in the northeast.
Just for fun – Your enjoyment and amusement at the following site will be in direct proportion to your age: Obsolete Skills is a wiki database of things we used to know that are no longer very useful to us. Some of these skills are everyday matters like dialing a rotary phone or adjusting rabbit ears, but the list is also a compendium of disappeared jobs, such as taking shorthand, asbestos installation, blacksmiths, bookbinding, and more. It’s a fun site to browse and because it’s a wiki, you can also contribute.
Quick Takes
- Roberto Ceniceros on Telecommuting
- HR Daily Advisor: Must You Allow Telecommuting as an ADA Accommodation?
- Fraud: Social Media the Latest Tool for Health Care Fraud Investigators
- Safety: The Triangle Fire 100 Years Later: Lessons Learned and Unlearned
- Monthly Labor Review: Nonfatal Injuries and Illnesses in State and Local Government Workplaces in 2008 (PDF)
- Compensability: Co-worker’s Falling Asleep at Wheel is Negligent, Covered by Workers’ Comp
- OSHA: Small Business Compliance Guidance Issued for Final Rule for Cranes & Derricks
- Canada: Human Resources Legislative Update Blog
In McCann v. Iroquois Mem. Hosp., No. 08-3420 (7th Cir. September 12, 2010), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals addressed Plaintiffs’ allegations that the Hospital, its Board and CEO violated the Federal Wiretap Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2511, 2520, and various state laws. According to…
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Healthcare Workplace Update