OLDWICK, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “a+” from “a” of North American Casualty Group (NAC) and its members, California Insurance Company (San Francisco, CA) and Continental Indemnity Company (Cedar Rapids, IA), which operate under a pooling arrangement. A.M. Best also has affirmed NAC’s financial strength rating of A… [Read more]
Association, Rating & Research News
Health Strategy Associates Announces Claims Systems Survey Webinar
MADISON, CONN. — Sandy Blunt and Joseph Paduda of Health Strategy Associates (HSA) will present findings from the firm’s first annual survey of workers’ compensation claims systems in a 60-minute webinar titled “A Disconnect in Work Comp Claims Systems” on Thursday, May 19 at 1:30 p.m. EDT. The survey compared the responses of two distinct… [Read more]
PMSI Releases 2011 Annual Drug Trends Report
TAMPA, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–PMSI, one of the nation’s largest and most experienced companies focused solely on workers’ compensation, today announced the release of its 2011 Annual Drug Trends Report. The 2011 report findings are based on data analysis of PMSI’s 5.4 million retail and mail order transactions during calendar years 2008 – 2010. “For 35 years,… [Read more]
New Progressive Medical White Paper Addresses Medical Foods in Workers’ Compensation
WESTERVILLE, Ohio–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Progressive Medical, Inc. released a new white paper, “Managing the Medical Foods Dilemma.” The white paper addresses the increasing role medical foods play in workers’ compensation and the surrounding concern due to lack of conclusive clinical evidence to validate medical foods’ effectiveness. The paper also offers insight to how payors can proactively control… [Read more]
New WCRI Medical Cost Containment Report Details State Strategies
WCRI has released a new report on Workers’ Compensation Medical Cost Containment strategies in use as of the start of the year. As costs for workers’ compensation medical care continue to increase rapidly, the pressure on policymakers and other stakeholders to contain those medical costs also continues to increase. This detailed report provides a comprehensive… [Read more]
CWCI Research Spotlights Fentanyl Prescribing Patterns in California Workers’ Comp
In a study published last month, the California Workers’ Compensation Institute found that the top 10% of doctors who prescribe extremely potent, highly addictive Schedule II opioids for injured workers in California account for nearly 80% of all workers’ compensation prescriptions for these narcotic drugs, and that nearly half of the prescriptions were for minor… [Read more]
AIA Supports Illinois Workers’ Compensation Reforms
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Steve Schneider, Midwest region vice president for the American Insurance Association (AIA), today sent a letter to Illinois State Senator Kwame Raoul, the lead Democratic negotiator on workers’ compensation issues, advocating for a full range of reforms. AIA believes that unless certain reforms are made to the present system, the costs of… [Read more]
WCIRB Report on Fourth Quarter 2010 Insurer Results Released
San Francisco, CA – The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) announced today that it has completed its report summarizing insurer loss and premium experience through December 31, 2010. The report is based on data reported by insurers who wrote roughly 99% of the statewide market. Highlights from the report include: California written… [Read more]
AIA Praises Adoption of Kansas Workers’ Compensation Reform Legislation
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 20, 2011 – The American Insurance Association (AIA) today praised Kansas Governor Sam Brownback and leadership in the legislature for spearheading workers’ compensation reform efforts during the 2011 legislative session. Following several months of negotiations between business and labor, the governor signed HB 2134 into law on Monday. The bill was passed… [Read more]
NCCI Releases New Study on Physician Reimbursement and Medical Fee Schedules
NCCI has released a new research study, The Impact on Physician Reimbursement of Changes to Workers Compensation Medical Fee Schedules that examines examples of how workers compensation medical payments responded to state fee schedule changes for particular services. NCCI’s Summary of the report: Medical costs are more than 50% of workers compensation (WC) costs in… [Read more]