Teddy Awards: A Pat on the Back for Comp Management- June 30, 2008 Risk & Insurance Magazine has announced the 2008 competition for the Teddy Awards, given to organizations demonstrating a long-term commitment to improving workers compensation performance. Creativity and teamwork are major considerations. Four awards will be given: one for a company; one for a nonprofit or government entity; a third award will honor a federal government entity (that will be interesting!)....http://www.workerscompinsider.com/archives/000901.html Health Wonk Review and news roundup- June 26, 2008 Health Wonk Review - Jaan Sidorov has posted a well-written and very interesting issue of Health Wonk Review at Disease Management Care Blog. Jaan has been a frequent contributor to HWR of late but this is his first time hosting - so when you stop by, be sure to check out his blog, which is billed as "An ongoing forum...http://www.workerscompinsider.com/archives/000900.html 911 Rescuers: Fools Rush In...- June 25, 2008 Anthony DePalma has an interesting analysis of the 10,000 claims against New York City in the aftermath of 911. The city has reviewed the claims submitted by people involved in the immediate aftermath and clean up. As many as 30 percent of the claimants are suffering from nothing more than a runny nose or cough. In over 300 of the...http://www.workerscompinsider.com/archives/000899.html Injured and Illegal...in South Korea- June 24, 2008 We sometimes forget that the USA is not the only country with an undocumented worker problem. Anywhere you find developed countries with lots of (relatively high paying) jobs, you will find people willing to do anything to get them. Which leads us to an article in Korea Times by Park Si-soo. Zhang Shuai, 22, entered South Korea on a student...http://www.workerscompinsider.com/archives/000898.html Google throws its hat into the electronic medical records arena- June 23, 2008 Search behemoth Google is making its initial foray into the electronic medical records (EMR) business with the recent launch of Google Health. (Also see the FAQs). This service goes toe-to-toe with Microsoft's Health Vault in the race to become the web's dominant player. Some large health plans such as Kaiser Permananete have been rolling out EMR programs to members. And...http://www.workerscompinsider.com/archives/000897.html Brendan Doyle: Return-to-Work Person of the Year- June 20, 2008 You probably have never heard of Brendan Doyle, a Rhode Island state trooper, but his story, as told by Amanda Milkovits in the Providence Journal, belongs in the hearts and minds of anyone involved in disability management. He exemplifies what great medicine, combined with ferocious determination and discipline, can accomplish. Just over a year ago, he was punched to the...http://www.workerscompinsider.com/archives/000896.html Looking for Fraud...In the Mirror- June 19, 2008 Imagine you are an attorney in Massachusetts looking for a little work. The Office of Labor and Workforce Development (OLWD), a state agency, hires you and 10 other attorneys to examine applications for unemployment insurance. Normally, this work would be performed by state employees, but the combination of cost-efficiency lay offs and a bad economy has caused a surge in...http://www.workerscompinsider.com/archives/000895.html Cavalcade of Risk and news roundup: NH, WV, residual market, WC cost drivers & more- June 18, 2008 Weekly carnival - A lively edition of Cavalcade of Risk has been posted by Jim at Bargaineering. NH targeting misclassified employees - New Hampshire employers take note: The departments of labor, employment security, insurance and revenue are teaming up to ferret out employers who misclassify workers as independent contractors to avoid paying workers compensation and unemployment insurance. In addition to...http://www.workerscompinsider.com/archives/000894.html New York Trusts, Revisited: Comp Board Channels Willie Sutton- June 17, 2008 Yesterday we blogged the New York Workers Comp Board's unusual solution to a cash flow problem: when a dozen trust funds collapsed, the Board decided to hit up the remaining, solvent funds with an assessment: they raised assessments from the routine total of $500,000 to a staggering $12 million. The Board is using the logic of notorious bank robber Willie...http://www.workerscompinsider.com/archives/000893.html Risky Risk Management in New York- June 16, 2008 Compensation Risk Management (CRM) is a third party administrator for eight workers comp trusts in New York. These trusts offer comp coverage to affinity groups in the areas of health care, wholesaleretail and transportation. As we read in the New York Times in an article by Steven Greenhouse, there is good news and bad news about CRM: the good news...http://www.workerscompinsider.com/archives/000892.html |