Payments for outpatient facility services in workers compensation drove up the cost of medical payments per claim by 6.6% from 2014 through 2018, according to a report issued Thursday by the National Council for Compensation Insurance. Overall, the cost of medical payments per claim rose 7.5% during that period, NCCI reported. Comprising approximately one-fifth of medical costs, hospital outpatient payments…
More than one-third of states have accepted COVID-19 as an occupational illness for certain professionals, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. Overall, 19 states have made changes to workers compensation compensability amid the pandemic, according to the Boca Raton, Florida-based ratings agency. Eleven states have issued executive orders, directives or emergency rules on…
The coronavirus pandemic dealt a relatively modest $2.5 billion blow to five insurers with large U.S. operations in the second quarter – a cost that was far less than feared and which the industry has absorbed without touching capital, analysts said. American International Group Inc. and Chubb Ltd. said payouts on claims related to the disease accounted for most of…
Health care industry employees have filed the majority of workers compensation claims related to COVID-19, according to a study released Wednesday by Mitchell International Inc. The San Diego-based claims management company analyzed coronavirus-related workers compensation claims through the end of June, finding that 66% of those claims came from health care and social assistance workers, with 7% coming from public…
A homeowner claims she fractured her leg after Terminix employees moved a set of concrete steps while treating the home for termites, causing her to fall. Carolyn and Joseph Dreste filed the complaint July 23 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against Terminix International Inc. and The Terminix International Company Limited Partnership. According to the…
Workers compensation is likely to experience a rough patch financially, but experts are optimistic that the line will rebound to its 2019 strength in a few years. However, the lack of data on COVID-19 and low interest rates are creating much uncertainty in the workers comp line, panelists from the National Council on Compensation Insurance and the Insurance Information Institute…
The COVID-19 aid package Congress is working on could cost taxpayers between $1 trillion and $3 trillion, but a central Illinois congressman warns if liability protection for schools isn’t addressed, it could cost taxpayers even more. Illinois Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Maisch said there are some real concerns from an employer getting hit with a claim an employee contracted…
Lauded for their service and hailed as everyday heroes, essential workers who get the coronavirus on the job have no guarantee in most states they’ll qualify for workers’ compensation to cover lost wages and medical care. Fewer than one-third of the states have enacted policies that shift the burden of proof for coverage of job-related COVID-19 so workers like first…
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration must make public workplace injuries and illnesses records, according to an announcement Wednesday by the Public Citizen Foundation, which sued the federal agency in 2018 over access. The Washington-based organization said the federal agency has until Aug. 18 to provide the data of 237,000 employers, under a federal court ruling that ends a…
Presumption laws for essential workers who acquire COVID-19 may have less of an impact than anticipated on the workers compensation system, but whether it will lead to an increase in claims workers compensation payouts is up for debate, said a group of panelists Thursday at Business Insurance’s webinar, Workers Compensation: Presumption & COVID-19. Workers compensation presumption laws, which presume that…
