It was a comment I never saw coming. A comment that, as difficult as it may seem, left me speechless for a number of minutes. Given the context in which the feedback existed it was truly an unexpected surprise. More importantly, it highlighted one of our industry's biggest challenges as we struggle to reform our…
Meeting My Bestest Friend Mitch
Last July I penned an article called “It's Not Easy Being Me”, where, among other things, I confessed that I am terrible at remembering names and faces, even occasionally forgetting that I have met people at prior conferences. This remains an issue for me. It is awkward when you tell a person that it is…
The Conversation: "I Am So Thankful I Didn't Get That Scooter"
One of the more compelling contributions to the recent 2016 Workers' Compensation Summit in Dallas (The “National Conversation”) came from someone likely unaccustomed to the environment of the intense two days of meetings. I included her on the list of 40 invited participants for two distinct reasons. First and foremost, she has demonstrated the ability…
Anti-Diarrheal Makes Crappy Recreational Drug
This story came to me from West Virginia a couple weeks ago, but as you may know we've been too immersed in talking about a conversation for workers' comp to get to any truly serious stories. The “conversation” will be back on the table later this week, but for this particular Monday, we are shifting…
The Notes from the Workers' Comp Summit – Now It Is Your Turn to Join the National Conversation
The final notes from the 2016 Workers’ Compensation Summit held in Dallas last week were released to the participants today. We promised that all of the notes taken from the “national conversation” on workers’ compensation would be made available once they were complete. This is in addition to disclosing who the participants were, which we…
The Workers' Comp Conversation: When States Punish Good Intent
We are finalizing the initial notes from the Summit; the “national conversation” on workers' compensation held in Dallas last week, and we hope to publish them for public consumption as early as this afternoon. In the interim, I and other bloggers have been writing on specific points of the event, providing general overview information. One…
The National Conversation Continuation – What's In a Name?
It was at breakfast, on the first day of meetings at the 2016 Workers' Compensation Summit, where an interesting observation was made. The Summit, as you may already know, was part of the much discussed “National Conversation” being held to address our industry's shortcomings. The Summit meeting area within the Westin Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport Hotel…
A Message of Transparency From the National Conversation
Well, the national conversation on workers' compensation concluded yesterday, except it didn't (If you don't know what I am talking about, read here). We had two extremely energetic and involved days of discussion, and our group still has some email dialogue and editing to do before we settle on our final review and comments from…
And The Conversation Begins in Dick Cheney's Basement
This morning finds me firmly ensconced in a top secret “undisclosed location”, preparing to attend the 2016 Workers’ Compensation Summit – the result of an earlier call for a national conversation on workers’ comp. When I first published the article “Who Will Lead The National Conversation on Workers’ Compensation” on February 8, 2016, I had…
On Meeting Charles Krauthammer, a Perfect Fit for Workers' Comp
At the NCCI Annual Issues Symposium last week, I had the pleasure of hearing one of my favorite columnists, Charles Krauthammer, as he delivered the Keynote presentation for the event. I owe many thanks to the folks at NCCI, as they also afforded me the opportunity to meet the man briefly after the session was…