http://www.joepaduda.com/ A weblog by Joseph Paduda en-us jpaduda@healthstrategyassoc.com 2008-05-09T16:58:26-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001209.html Friend and colleague Peter Rousmaniere recently attended the NCCI conference and was kind enough to provide a comprehensive report. Here it is, and thank Peter when you see him.... 1209@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Workers Comp 2008-05-09T16:58:26-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001207.html I recently gave a keynote speech to a group of insurance brokers affiliated with the Institute for Work Comp Professionals; the talk focused on cost drivers in WC, with special emphasis on medical costs. The part of the talk that... 1207@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Workers Comp 2008-05-09T06:54:21-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001195.html Many payers look at 'medical' as a line item and nothing more. This myopia, this failure to look deeper, to try to understand what drives medical, is perhaps the most significant shortcoming in the industry. Many readers will dismiss this... 1195@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Workers Comp 2008-05-08T06:36:31-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001206.html Ingenix has had a tough few months. The latest injury comes in the form of a suit filed by a Connecticut man, seeking class action status based on allegations that the United HealthCare sub engaged in an "alleged conspiracy in... 1206@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Manage Care - Group Health 2008-05-07T06:24:46-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001205.html Pretty good. I'd say better than 50:50; probably 60:40 or better that there will be major reform in the next Congress. Here's why. Sen Ron Wyden's (D OR) Healthy Americans Act has six D and six R Senate cosponsors, including... 1205@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Health Policy 2008-05-06T05:43:03-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001204.html I'm at the annual meeting of the Institute of WorkComp Professionals in Asheville, NC today. A very impressive group; what is notable is these folks actually do 'get it'; they do understand that workers comp is not just a spreadsheet... 1204@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Workers Comp 2008-05-05T12:36:24-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001203.html the new big thing at RIMS this year seemed to be weather; the prediction of it (both long and short term forecasting), and the closely related business of disaster recovery. There were several vendors marketing sophisticated technology that ostensibly enables... 1203@http://www.joepaduda.com/ 2008-05-02T11:21:49-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001202.html I and others have taken Sen McCain to task for his wildly expensive health reform plan that somehow manages to cost more than the Obama or Clinton plans, while insuring far fewer people. How does he do this? By relying... 1202@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Health Policy 2008-04-30T13:33:53-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001200.html I had a chance to spend more time with the Medcor folks this morning at RIMS, and liked what I saw. They've been doing the combo first report of injury (or most of it)/nurse triage/network direction work for ten years... 1200@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Workers Comp 2008-04-30T00:12:38-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001201.html Here, in no particular order, are some findings gleaned from my wanderings around the show floor at RIMS in San Diego. MSC has rebounded nicely from the loss of Liberty Mutual's pharmacy business last year (awarded entirely to Progressive Medical).... 1201@http://www.joepaduda.com/ 2008-04-29T23:19:54-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001198.html The periphery of the trade show floor at RIMS is where you'll find innovators - new companies, with new ideas and concepts, new solutions to old problems, all described by their owners, founders, and top execs. To give credit where... 1198@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Property and Casualty 2008-04-28T23:14:02-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001199.html Medicare Set Asides were a hot business for a couple of years with NuQuest HealthAdvocates and Gould and Lamb dominating the industry. Then Coventry entered the market thru its priority services sub, quickly moving up to the fourth spot. Coventry... 1199@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Workers Comp 2008-04-28T19:51:40-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001197.html Last week it was the World Health Care Congress (perhaps the best conference I've ever attended in terms of content and quality). This week it is RIMS, the annual property and casualty get together, where brokers schmooze and vendors vend... 1197@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Property and Casualty 2008-04-28T08:21:54-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001196.html Friend and colleague Bob Laszewski has shined a very bright light on Wall Street's ignorance about the health insurance business. Bob notes: "We are way past the time the really smart people on Wall Street (that would be all of... 1196@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Manage Care - Group Health 2008-04-24T11:27:13-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001193.html As I reported last week, the softening market will inevitably lead to a significant increase in the number of mergers. Add another deal to the list. In a deal just announced, Liberty Mutual is buying Safeco, the Seattle-based P&C carrier,... 1193@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Property and Casualty 2008-04-23T10:20:01-05:00