I must say, this was one of the most poorly thought out programs that I've come across in a long, long time. I haven't seen something so badly thought out since Windows 98. No wait, make that Windows Millennium. Scratch that – Windows 8. At any rate, I really don't know what Microsoft engineers were…
Let's Start Talking: When Labor Sec Labels Opt Out a "Pathway to Poverty", We All May Be Subject to the Cure
Within the last year I participated on several blogger panels at conferences around the nation. For at least two if them, the question of potential intervention in workers' comp by the Federal Government was broached. Almost all involved unequivocally stated that this would never happen; workers' comp has been, is and shall remain a state…
The Continuing Wussification of America
Two news articles caught my eye this week that disturbed me greatly; well, disturbed me even more than my customary level of disturbment (disturbage?). They were stories that, if representative of current trends in America, signal the end of life here as we know it. One was about a class action lawsuit filed against Starbucks…
Comp Laude and Best Blogs: There Has Never Been a Better Time to Celebrate the Best in Workers' Comp
There has never been a better time to recognize top performance in the workers' compensation industry than this next week. One program designed to recognize top informational talent for the industry closes nominations just 9 days from today, on the 31st of March. Another program, designed to recognize and celebrate those people in comp that…
Who Knew Medical Travel Could Drive Costs So High For Workers' Comp?
A study conducted by the Workers' Compensation Research Institute (WCRI), and reviewed in a session entitled “Crossing State Lines for Medical Care” at their annual convention in Boston recently, showed that New York based injured workers who engaged in medical travel to New Jersey experienced orthopedic surgery costs at more than twice the allowable rates…
Schrodinger's Opt Out and the Transparency Variable
I've said it before regarding Opt Out, the alternative plan in Oklahoma that allows employers to escape the workers' compensation system but maintain the benefits of exclusive remedy; just repeatedly using the word “transparency” will not make it so. Yet when it comes to “The Oklahoma Option”, the word transparency is tossed around like cheap…
For Opt Out Mess, the Oklahoma Insurance Department Bears Much Blame
I've been highly critical of the Oklahoma Option, the alternative workers' compensation system that was recently found to be unconstitutional by that states Workers' Compensation Commission. I've been critical of the backers of the system, as well as the employers who willingly set up plans in this closed and tightly controlled scheme. And while I've…
For the Last Flippin' Time, Texas is NOT an Opt Out State
There were two sessions on “Opt Out” at the 32nd WCRI Annual Issues & Research Conference held in Boston last week. I will be writing some more on those sessions, but there is a major point I feel compelled to discuss first and foremost. It is a singular, critical point that was generally omitted by…
Defining the Path: WCRI Injured Workers' Outcome Study is a Good Start
It is said that to know where you are going, you must first know where you currently are. In the world of injured worker outcomes, that advice could not prove to be more salient. Don't get me wrong, we talk a great deal about outcomes. We actually talk and talk and talk some more about…
WCRI and the Path Home
Well, the 2016 WCRI Annual Conference is behind us, and as I wait for my flight home to the Sunshine State it is time to let the massive amount of data provided coalesce and cogitate within the deep dank recesses of my mind. Most of that info will likely be lost in there for the…