Oakland, CA – The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) has released its Evaluation of Cost Impact of Governor Newsom’s Executive Order on Rebuttable Presumption for California COVID-19 Workers’ Compensation Claims. In this evaluation, the WCIRB estimated the cost impact of the governor’s May 6, 2020 Executive Order N-62-20 providing for a rebuttable… [Read more]
Association, Rating & Research News
CWCI Examines Integration of COVID-19 Presumptions into CA Workers’ Comp
Oakland, CA – As lawmakers debate issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, including the role that workers’ compensation systems in California and elsewhere should play in responding to the virus and the potential impact of COVID-19 presumptions of compensability, the California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) has issued a white paper that looks at the historic role… [Read more]
WCRI Releases 12th Edition of Free Medical Price Index for Workers’ Comp
Cambridge, MA – The Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) recently released an updated version of its study that helps compare prices paid for medical professional services across 36 states and monitor price changes from 2008 to 2019. The study, WCRI Medical Price Index for Workers’ Compensation, 12th Edition (MPI-WC), focuses on professional services (evaluation and… [Read more]
CWCI Study Finds Sharp Drop in CA Workers’ Comp Independent Medical Reviews
Oakland, CA – A new California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) study on the Independent Medical Review (IMR) process used to resolve California workers’ comp medical disputes finds that the number of IMR determination letters, fueled by a sharp decline in prescription drug disputes, fell 11.3% from 2018 to 2019, with data from the first quarter… [Read more]
WCRI Study: Total Costs per TX Workers’ Comp Claim Stable as Component Changes Offset
Cambridge, MA – Total costs per workers’ compensation claim and key components in Texas were stable from 2013 to 2018, masking offsetting changes within the period, according to a recent study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). Total costs per claim in Texas were among the lowest of the 18 study states for 2016… [Read more]
WCRI Study: Hospital Outpatient Payments at Least 50% Higher in Most States without Fixed-Amount Fee Schedules
Cambridge, MA – Hospital outpatient payments were higher and growing faster in states with percent-of-charge-based fee regulations or no fee schedules, finds a study from the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). The study, the latest in an annual series, compares hospital payments for a group of common outpatient surgeries in workers’ compensation across 36 states… [Read more]
NSC Releases SAFER Framework for Employers During Reopening Efforts and Beyond
Itasca, IL – The National Safety Council released a framework summary for employers – based on recommendations from the SAFER: Safe Actions for Employee Returns task force – that identifies six critical areas employers must prioritize as they consider reopening and returning employees to traditional work environments. Based on dozens of corporate and public health… [Read more]
NCCI Issues State of the Line Report at AIS Virtual Event
Boca Raton, FL – The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) recently held its Annual Issues Symposium (AIS Virtual). The event—themed “A New Decade In Sight”—featured NCCI’s chief actuary, Donna Glenn, FCAS, MAAA, who delivered the company’s highly anticipated State of the Line Report. NCCI’s State of the Line Report provided a detailed description of… [Read more]
AM Best Assigns Credit Ratings to Stonetrust Premier Casualty; Affirms Stonetrust Commercial
Oldwick, NJ -(BusinessWire)- AM Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of B++ (Good) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “bbb+” to Stonetrust Premier Casualty Insurance Company. The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the FSR of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term ICR… [Read more]
NCCI’s Free AIS Virtual Event Going Live Tomorrow
Boca Raton, FL – The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) will go virtual tomorrow with its Annual Issues Symposium event—AIS Virtual. Themed “A New Decade In Sight”, the event begins at 1:00 p.m. ET on May 12, 2020. More than 2,000 attendees are already registered to attend. “AIS Virtual will offer actionable intelligence around… [Read more]