It is an age-old problem. Government overpromises. Financial crisis follows. And politicians, instead of fixing the mistake, simply grab whatever cash they can get their grubby little mitts on. That is the feeling you get when you look at what is happening in Oregon right now. The state has what can be considered, by all…
Are Florida Appellate Fees Unappealing?
A decision issued late last week has largely skated under the radar, but has the potential for another big impact in the world that is Florida workers’ compensation. Florida Judge Mark Massey issued a decision on August 25th, in the case Napoles v. Kendall Regional Medical Center, that will maintain the status quo in the…
The Word Undocumented Still Doesn't Make It Legal
Last Thursday this site ran the first in a series of articles looking at how different states workers’ compensation systems handle injured workers’ who are not legally able to accept employment in the United States. The series, headlined “Undocumented and Unprotected?”, started with a look at California’s fairly liberal laws that provide specific protections for…
Goodbye, Mr. Gilliland
Last week marked the official final days of Robert Gilliland’s Chairmanship of the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission. It passed largely without notation or proclamation. For a select few people that was probably a good thing. For most of us, however, it is an event worthy of review, reflection and remembrance, as his service to the…
Coughing Our Way Through Medicinal Trials
I swear, my doctor is such a pansy. First, it seems my commitment to have my annual physical once every five or six years is not sufficient for him. Then he insisted on “fixing” my blood pressure. My blood pressure was showing signs of increasing numerous years ago, and when it reached the mid to…
Illinois Governor Vetoes State Fund Creation Bill
Ahhhh, sanity in a maelstrom. Or at least a hint of sanity in a maelstrom. It was reported yesterday that Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed a bill intended to establish a state-sponsored fund to provide workers’ compensation insurance in Illinois. Taxpayers of Illinois can breathe a sigh of relief, or at least refocus their fears…
PBM's and More: In A World of Cost Plus, Is Transparency a Dirty Word?
Peter Rousmaniere last week authored a two-part series, published on this site, that discussed Pharmacy Benefit Management companies (PBM’s) and their pricing practices. He revealed that there may be undisclosed profits in their traditional contract systems, with rebates and negotiated discounts not being made apparent or passed on to the client customer. He indicated that…
Thank God It's Friday…..
It’s been a hectic week, as we prepare to move our offices, upgrade our marketing material and get ready to announce that webinar series I asked you not to tell anyone about. Today will feature a little different kind of blog post for me, just touching on a few issues and then letting you go…
Putting Workers' Comp in the Hot Seat
It has been a long time in the planning, and we’ve had at least one false start (that was entirely my fault), but we are finally ready to announce next week that a new webinar series for the workers’ comp industry will be launched in September. But we’re not announcing it until next week, so…
Who Is the Real Butterball Here?
There is a fascinating article on propertycasualty360.com this morning that exemplifies the widely varying challenges people in the workers’ compensation industry face. It is an interview with Brian Rodgers, the senior director of corporate risk management for Butterball LLC. It covers, in extensive detail, how his company has reinvented the process of, well, processing turkeys,…