The forming of policy, regulations and law in the world of workers’ compensation can be an intricate process. No matter the area of the law, they say that the making of regulatory and legislative content is like the making of sausage. You never want to see how it’s done. Or do we? My recent experiences…
Attitude is Everything, Even When It's Not
I spent this past weekend in the Four Corners area of Colorado and New Mexico, visiting my 99-year-old father. He unfortunately took a fall in early January, and while his injury, a broken coccyx, would’ve been painful but relatively minor in a younger person, it set off a cascade of events that have affected him…
Fatal News Is a Kick in the Groin for Telehealth
No doubt about it. Telehealth is all the rage and presents tremendous potential for expanding access to quality care for a multitude of patients. The technology, which connects patients and physicians via high speed video connections, promises to expand access to all types of medical care in rural areas, as well as providing enhanced access…
What is Disability, Really?
It is an issue we struggle with, and a difficult one to solve. Much of the activity in workers’ comp is centered around the concept of disability; what it is and how much it is worth for the individual who has been assigned with that designation. We even grade disability, giving it a numerical value…
Will Cash Infusion Make Online Comp Purchases Easy as Pie?
We’ve been saying for years that the traditional business model for the typical insurance agent would be threatened by technology. The last couple years have seen real shifts in that arena. Word this week that the online workers’ comp insurance provider Pie has received $45 million in series B funding is another example that the financial world…
WCRI and the Decline of Workers' Comp Benefits
Attending the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute Annual Issues & Research Conference is a bit like drinking from a firehose when it comes to consuming data presented at the event. While much of it was pertinent to a variety of stakeholders in the industry, the timing of the conference to our upcoming Hot Seat webinar meant…
Covering the Heck Out of WCRI on Drugs
The first two sessions at the 35th Annual Workers’ Compensation Research Institute Conference, being held in Phoenix, AZ are behind us, and it is clear that the issue of Opioids is not close to being resolved for us either as an industry or a nation. WCRI presenters offered a plethora of facts and figures related…
On the Hot Seat: Benefit Adequacy in Workers' Comp
It was one of the top issues identified by the 2016 Workers’ Comp Summit. Benefit Adequacy is a big issue in workers’ comp. What are the trends and current state of benefits in the US? Next Thursday, March 7th at 12:00 eastern, Judge David Langham and I will tackle that topic in the 7th episode…
A Gratuitous Tip for Florida Comp Judges
As you know, I am all about solutions. So naturally, when I read in this here website about the challenges of getting reasonable wages for Florida Comp judges, I knew I would have to weigh in. There is a fairly easy fix to the problem they face. In case you missed the article by our…
When the Booby Prize Bites You in the Cute Butt
Welcome to comp-free Friday, where we venture outside the world of workers’ compensation to demonstrate that we are not the only ones to have to deal with Dilbert-like actions. Today we will talk about stupid. You see, there is stupid, and then there is stupid. Actually, there is stupid, then stupid, then Wisconsin Cheerleading Coach…