Albany, NY – Governor Cuomo’s plan to reform workers compensation as recently outlined in his budget address is a positive step forward and should help bring down costs, which is vital to New York’s economic recovery, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI).
“Governor Cuomo has made workers compensation reform a priority and has shown a commitment to ensuring that the system works for employers and the workers,” said Kristina Baldwin, assistant vice president for PCI. “Several of the proposals outlined in the budget address will have a positive impact on costs by streamlining processes and addressing some of the issues that have prevented the reforms of 2007 from achieving their intended long-term savings.”
The governor’s proposals include replacing the current cumbersome Workers Compensation Board assessment process with a simple pass through assessment system. The current system requires the Workers Compensation Board to mail 14 different invoices per calendar year for each carrier writing workers compensation insurance. “The new pass through system will greatly simplify the assessment process both for the Workers Compensation Board and carriers,” said Baldwin. “This change will also significantly reduce administrative burdens and associated costs.”
The governor also proposes to eliminate mandatory deposits to the Aggregate Trust Fund (ATF) and close the fund to new deposits. “Required ATF deposits add unnecessary costs and burdens to the workers compensation system and eliminating this requirement will benefit both carriers and employers without affecting the benefits of the injured worker,” said Baldwin. “PCI applauds Governor Cuomo for including these important, common sense reforms to New York’s workers compensation system in his proposed state budget.”
Source: PCI