Leaders Speak

By Anita Jovic, RN, BSN, MBA, Vice President Clinical Operations, HomeCare Connect While the number of workers’ compensation claims for workers who have become seriously ill with COVID-19 are thankfully low, the severity of these claims will be high. These could include workers who contract COVID-19 on the job as well as injured workers exposed… [Read more]

By Teresa Williams, MSW, LCSW, Managing Partner, HomeCare Connect Mental health is getting hammered by COVID-19. More than 36 percent of US adults are showing symptoms of depression or anxiety during the pandemic; that’s up from 11 percent in 2019. The American Academy of Clinical Psychologists have seen high rates of suicide. Nearly 11% considered… [Read more]

By Elijah Marentette, Senior Vice President of Account Management, myMatrixx Last week, my colleague David Dubrof shared some important insights on the so-called “transparent” pricing models that some newer entrants to the pharmacy benefit management (PBM) arena are touting as an innovation in the field. He is absolutely correct that all payers need to stay… [Read more]

By David Dubrof, Chief Sales Officer, myMatrixx Cost transparency continues to be a watchword in the PBM industry, and this certainly extends to the workers’ compensation space. But although the term implies clarity in cost, it doesn’t always equate to clarity in overall value. Make no mistake, the larger conversation about transparency in pricing for… [Read more]

By Kate Farley-Agee, Vice President, Network Products, Coventry Recovery is a word we use a lot in workers’ compensation. It’s a simple term with a sometimes equally straightforward path to its end. A repetitive strain injury might require physical therapy and time to heal. Yet when it comes to treating an opioid use disorder, the… [Read more]

By Nikki Wilson, PharmD, MBA, Director of Pharmacy Product Development, Coventry For all the progress our nation has made in reducing opioid prescriptions, misuse of these powerful analgesics remains an intractable problem. And while much work remains, the health care system has grown more adept at deploying the right resources at the right time to… [Read more]

By Joe Paduda, Principal, Health Strategy Associates Last week we debunked unwarranted fears that workers’ comp is in a profit-crushing “COVID crisis” – mostly because COVID-19 claim costs and claim counts are relatively low. Reality is COVID-19 costs will be more than offset by the massive decrease in new claims seen so far, a decrease… [Read more]

By Joe Paduda, Principal, Health Strategy Associates What do we KNOW about COVID-19’s impact on workers’ comp? Actually, we know a lot. We know relatively few claims have been accepted. We know most of the accepted claims have incurred little to no expense beyond a couple weeks of indemnity payments. We know about one-fifth of… [Read more]

Frank Raneri, Senior Vice President, Paradigm Specialty Networks In a previous post, we reviewed how the COVID-19 pandemic caused the temporary closure of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) in April. Since reopening in May, they have been able to resume operations at or near previous capacity. This is particularly important for orthopedic surgeries related to workers’… [Read more]

Frank Raneri, Senior Vice President, Paradigm Specialty Networks The COVID-19 pandemic delayed a large number of workers’ compensation-related orthopedic surgeries, many of which were scheduled to be performed in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). Since ASCs resumed operations in early May, taking a closer look at their response to the pandemic can help illuminate some of… [Read more]