There are no shortages of conferences for workers' comp, and Lord knows I've been to a few. However, this week I am attending my first event designed for the self insured segment of our industry, the Workers' Compensation Executive Forum being put on by the Self Insured Institute of America. It is being held in San Antonio, Texas May 15 – 17.
While there are several sessions that intrigue me, the one that drew me in was the one slated to discuss the “Evolution of State Law Surrounding Physician Dispensing”. It features Florida State Senator Alan Hays, the original sponsor of the now failed bill SB 668 here in Florida. I find the use of the word “evolution” an interesting choice, considering how our own Florida State Senate handled this bill. It is apparent they are largely still a group of cave dwelling knuckle draggers on this topic. By the time our legislative process finished fouling the language and intent of SB 668, our State Senate largely resembled a group of Neanderthals after a successful hunt: slaughtered carcasses everywhere and a group of crazed scruffians chanting about zug-zugging Florida business (The phrase “zug zug” is taken from the 1981 movie “Caveman” starring Ringo Starr. I won't tell you exactly what zug zug stands for, but trust me; despite Senator Hays' good intentions, it is exactly what our legislature did to us).
I will be interested in hearing about what plans are ahead to help Florida evolve beyond its' current evolutionary level on physician dispensing. Hopefully there are plans in place to eventually see that we actually can stand erect on this issue. Whatever the discussion, I will recap it here for you upon my return.
This is my second trip to San Antonio in as many months. I was there for the ABA Mid Winter Seminar in March, and enjoy visiting that town. The Riverwalk gives plenty of opportunity for the diet challenged to completely trash their caloric goals, and I am definitely planning to drag my own knuckles into a couple favorite spots. Someone tell the Iron Cactus to warm up that Chipotle Salsa…..
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Editors Note: For the record, Bob knows that Neanderthals were not really “knuckle draggers”. He doesn’t really care.