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]
Association, Rating & Research News
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]
WCRI Offering Free Webinar on COVID-19 Compensability
Cambridge, MA – Across the country, policymakers are wrestling with whether a worker who contracts COVID-19 is compensated under workers’ compensation for income loss and medical expenses ─ given communicable diseases, such as the flu, have generally not been covered. While policymakers in some states have indicated that they have existing rules and procedures in… [Read more]
CA WCIRB Releases “COVID-19 & WC: What Employers Need to Know” Presentation
Oakland, CA – The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) recently released a recording and presentation handout for its recent webinar, COVID-19 and Workers’ Compensation – What Employers Need to Know. During the webinar, Brian Gray, WCIRB Director of Classification Administration and Education, discussed proposed rule changes that have been submitted to the… [Read more]
WCRI Study: Medical Payments Per Claim in VA Decreased 13% After Fee Schedule Introduced
Cambridge, MA – The average medical payment per claim in Virginia decreased 13 percent between 2017 and 2018, after the state implemented a medical fee schedule on January 1, 2018, according to a recent study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). This change was a main factor behind an 8 percent decrease in the… [Read more]
CA WCIRB Releases Cost Evaluation of Conclusive COVID-19 Presumption
Oakland, CA – The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) recently released its Cost Evaluation of Potential Conclusive COVID-19 Presumption in California Workers’ Compensation. The evaluation was completed in response to an April 8, 2020 request from the California State Assembly Insurance Committee to assess the impact of a conclusive presumption that COVID-19… [Read more]
NSC Launches SAFER Nationwide Task Force to Ensure Employee Safety Through Pandemic
Itasca, IL – The National Safety Council recently announced SAFER: Safe Actions for Employee Returns, a comprehensive, multifaceted effort to guide employers through the process of safely resuming traditional work and operations now and in a post-pandemic environment. Created in partnership with Fortune 500 companies, leading safety organizations and public health professionals and experts, the… [Read more]