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The dwindling number of states that have no fee schedule, or that set fees according to a percentage of billed charges, are paying far more for outpatient surgery than states that have adopted some version of Medicare’s payment system, according to a report released Thursday by the Workers’ Compensation Institute. WCRI compared payments to hospitals for outpatient surgery in 36…

Illinois workers exposed to diseases from toxic substances while employed can now take matters to court. Gov. JB Pritzker signed SB 1596​ into action Friday, lifting a 25-year statute of limitation on such claims. It intends to help people diagnosed with latent diseases after exposure to toxic substances in the workplace, which could include asbestos and radiation. In some cases,…

City Hall could save millions of dollars by tightening up workers’ compensation rules and regulations, audit says While Ald. Edward M. Burke ran City Hall’s program to compensate injured workers, there was little, if any, effort to “detect potential fraud, waste and abuse,” according to an audit issued Friday — months after Burke lost control of the program following his…

The clock is ticking for Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to sign legislation that some business owners said could open up companies in Illinois to worker injury lawsuits that are decades old and not covered by liability insurance. Senate Bill 1596 was pushed through the General Assembly in less than a month and is now nearing its 60-day mark, where Pritzker…

Nearly a third of all construction workers are employed in nonstandard work arrangements, according to a study recently released by the Center for Construction Research and Training. The report, Nonstandard Work Arrangements in the Construction Industry, found that a quarter of construction workers were classified as independent contractors and about 8% were classified as temporary workers, day laborers, on-call workers…

The purpose of hiring an investigator in workers' compensation cases is to observe and document the movements of an injured employee. This allows the defense interests to introduce first-hand evidence into a hearing on the merits to demonstrate what someone is doing and their functional abilities – when they do not think someone is watching. The first and most important…

Electronic prescribing, or e-prescribing, allows health care providers to securely send prescription information from their computer or tablet directly to pharmacies. E-prescribing isn't new, but it's gaining ground quickly as more and more states are considering a mandate on this prescription transmission method. E-prescribing has seen a wave of support over the years, and one notable reason is the opioid…

Claims leaders rank psychosocial issues as the number one barrier to successful claim outcomes, according to Rising Medical Solutions' 2016 Workers' Compensation Benchmarking Study survey. A new white paper, co-authored by study program director Rachel Fikes and industry journalist Peter Rousmaniere, shows how claims advocacy principles at The Hartford, CNA, Nationwide, and Albertsons Companies are taming the effects of psychosocial…