I will chalk it up as a big leadership win for the Southern Association of Workers’ Compensation Administrators (SAWCA). The Industrial Panel that drew a standing room only crowd at their recent All Committee Conference was a first of its kind for the industry – at least the first of its kind in collective memory.…
Killing the Regulatory "Gotcha"
Recently I had the honor to once again reprise my role as moderator in a panel entitled “Things That Make Bob Go, Hmmm” at the All Committee Conference of the Southern Association of Workers’ Compensation Administrators (SAWCA). This was in Hilton Head, SC, and it was the fourth or fifth time they have invited me…
The Jurisdictional Interoperability of Workers' Comp
It has been a while since I’ve updated you on the jurisdictional interoperability of workers’ compensation. Since turkeys are on everyone’s mind this week, I thought that today would be a good day to tackle the topic. And I’m hoping you are still reading at this point, as personally, any article that starts out discussing…
Suicide by Co(m)p
I read a story last week about an Ohio police officer – make that a former Ohio police officer, who plead guilty to fabricating a story about being shot in the line of duty. The charges he plead to were one count of inducing panic, one count of making false alarms, two counts of tampering with evidence, one…
Poll on Illegal and Undocumented in Comp Provides Interesting Results
We recently concluded the second of our new CompNewsNetwork Pulse Polls, querying our industry on their views of the rights of undocumented workers’ who are injured on the job. This unscientific survey provided some interesting insight on how respondents feel about the issue. As this site reported Friday, when asked, “Should injured workers’ who are…
For Awareness Week, It's All About The Kids (Chance)
Today marks the beginning of the Third Annual Kids’ Chance Awareness Week, where the workers’ comp industry rolls out all the stops to make sure everyone and their brother has 1) heard of Kids’ Chance, and 2) understands what a terrific cause this organization supports. In case you have not yet been availed of this…
Doctor, Doctor, Give Me a Clue, My Blood Pressure's Up While Waiting On You
One of the challenges we have in workers’ compensation is that we are, in many jurisdictions, held hostage by a medical system that we can neither avoid or control. We are merely customers subject to the whims and quality of those who are serving the workers for whose injuries we are responsible. With medical spend…
The Eye of the Beholder: Are Canada's Workers' Comp Boards Overfunded?
A report issued this month claims that, as of last year, eight out of 12 Canadian workers’ compensation boards are overfunded by a total of $6.8 billion. In Canada, all boards are monopolistic, completely managing the workers’ compensation process for their provinces, from underwriting to claims administration. The group issuing the report, the Canadian Federation…
Article Number 1000, and 5 Million Views for the Cluttered Desk: It's Been a Great Journey
I started this blog, From Bob’s Cluttered Desk, in August of 2011. I can’t say I had a grand vision on where I wanted to go with it, or if it would be something I would even stick with. I literally decided in a single day that I wanted an area in which to occasionally…
There is No Reimbursement Code for Compassion
Today at the 6th Annual Comp Laude® Conference, one of the sessions was a discussion with bestselling author, Dr. Robert Pearl. Pearl is the author of the book “Mistreated – Why We Think We Are Getting Good Healthcare and Why We’re Usually Wrong”. He covered many interesting points regarding the realities of medicine in our…