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,…
Kids' Chance and Making a Young Girl Hurl
Ok, it was not the presentation I originally envisioned. While it was nobody’s fault, and, in reality, was another example of the sheer strength of the person we were honoring, it still was not the most desirable way to conclude the brief appearance. Perhaps I should start at the beginning. I was scheduled today, along…
Workers' Comp Improv Night at WCI Bloggers Panel
As I wrote earlier in the week, I will be at the 69th Annual WCI Conference in Orlando next week. One of the sessions I will be involved with is the traditional bloggers panel that has become a staple at many of these events. Except this year will be anything but traditional. The three bloggers…
On Social Security Number Use, Our Votes Are Revealing
We just completed a month long CompNewsNetwork Pulse Poll on the use of Social Security numbers on workers’ compensation forms. As part of my ongoing editorializing on the subject, we wanted to know how people in the industry felt about the issue. It appears, overall, that they agree with me; social security numbers should not…