Columbus, OH – Ohio’s public employers will pay nearly $18 million less in premiums this year to the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) thanks to a rate cut that went into effect Jan. 1. “These lower premium rates will allow many public employers to reinvest in their businesses and workers throughout the year,” said… [Read more]
Legislative & Regulatory News
NCOIL Adopts Workers’ Compensation Drug Formulary Model Act
Manasquan, NJ – During the 2019 NCOIL Annual Meeting in Austin, TX, the organization adopted the NCOIL Workers’ Compensation Drug Formulary Model Act sponsored by Indiana Representative Matt Lehman, 2020 NCOIL President. The Model passed without objection on a voice vote by both the Workers Compensation and the NCOIL Executive Committees. The Workers’ Compensation Committee… [Read more]
KY Governor Beshear Restores Board in Support of Workplace Safety
Frankfort, KY – In an effort to strengthen workplace and worker safety, Gov. Andy Beshear recently announced he is reestablishing a state board that sets workplace safety regulations. “Every Kentuckian should be safe at their place of employment,” Gov. Andy Beshear said. “We have worked with industry leaders to reestablish the board and ensure we… [Read more]
VA SCC Sets Workers’ Comp Premium Level Adjustments
The State Corporation Commission (SCC) has approved revisions to the premium levels charged for workers’ compensation insurance in Virginia. Workers’ compensation insurance provides medical care and wage replacement benefits to injured workers. Almost all Virginia employers are required to provide the coverage to their employees. The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) sought the revisions.… [Read more]
NCOIL President Announces 2020 Committee Leadership
Manasquan, NJ – NCOIL President Matt Lehman, state Representative from Indiana, announced the lineup of Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs for 2020. “I am excited to work with this distinguished group of legislative leaders from across both the country and the political spectrum as NCOIL continues to examine and enact sound public policy that protects… [Read more]
CA DWC Announces 2020 Profile Audit Review and Full Compliance Audit Performance
San Francisco, CA – The California Division of Workers’ Compensation’s (DWC) Audit and Enforcement Unit conducts a profile audit review (PAR) for all adjusting locations of California workers’ compensation claims at least once every five years, per the requirements of Labor Code sections 129 and 129.5. Performance of the adjusting locations is measured in five… [Read more]
MS Insurance Commissioner Announces Millions Returned from Workers’ Comp Risk Pool
Jackson, MS – Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney recently announced that an excess of funds in the state’s Workers’ Compensation Assigned Risk Pool will be returned to carriers. More than $14.6 million, collected between 1997 and 2015, will be returned to workers’ compensation carriers. The funds are in excess of what’s needed to pay the… [Read more]
MO DCI Recommends Decrease in Workers’ Compensation Rates for 2020
Jefferson City, MO – The Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance is recommending a 1.6 percent decrease in workers’ compensation insurance loss costs for 2020. This marks the sixth year in a row that average workers’ compensation rates will decrease. The 1.6 percent decrease in loss costs between Jan. 1, 2019 and Jan. 1, 2020… [Read more]
CA Workers’ Comp Regulators Announce 2020 User Funding Assessment Rates
Oakland, CA – The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) has issued the 2020 assessments that workers’ compensation insurers are required to collect from policyholders to cover the budget of the state Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) and five related programs set up by state lawmakers. Insurers should apply the following rates against their policyholders’… [Read more]
CA WCIRB Releases Follow-up Analysis of Medical Provider Fraud in Workers’ Comp
Oakland, CA – The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) recently released Treatment Patterns of Medical Providers Indicted for Fraud in California Workers’ Compensation, a follow-up analysis to its 2018 study that evaluated the potential impact of medical provider fraud enforcement. While Senate Bill No. 863 and subsequent legislation led to significant reduction… [Read more]