Quick takeaways from National Work Comp…

Don’t know what total attendance was, but seemed somewhat less than in pre-COVID years. Exhibit hall corridors were pretty empty despite sessions located around the exhibits.

Newest thing du jour – AI...sessions on AI, vendors promoting various applications, attendees mentioning AI in conversations about claims, data interpretation, claim intake, you name it.

Nurse triage – just…stop. Far too many are touting nurse triage – almost all without a clue as to what exactly this is, why they want to do it, what a “nurse” is, and how this will improve things. More on this in a future post, but for now:

• define nurse – do you need an RN? APRN? LPN? nursing assistant?
• what expertise/training/experience does this “nurse” need? orthopedics? emergency medicine? trauma? behavioral health?
• okay, so a new RN is on the phone with a person…exactly what value does this add? Be specific.
• more to come.

Events – by all reports myMatrixx’ get together was really well attended...I didn’t get to any others as they were past my east-coast bedtime. I do miss the myMatrixx transportation services from years past :( (mM is a consulting client)

There was a beach party outside my window that prevented a lot of us form getting to sleep before 11. Mandalay Bay staff was far less than helpful, told me this was on me as I should have checked the event calendar before booking my room (WTF!) and offered to send housekeeping up with a couple earplugs…I will NEVER stay there again.

Optum’s dog party was a big hit – great idea, really smart marketing, and good buzz generator.

Provocative session addressed anxiety, suicide and depression – more on that later. Sobering and much needed. Really respect the speakers for sharing their views and personal experiences. Yvonne Guibert – you are an inspiration.  

Booth staff – STOP pitching your stuff. JUST STOP. Until you have a decent sense for what the person in front of you needs, wants, is challenged by, don’t say anything other than a one-sentence line about the service/product your company delivers. 

have an excellent weekend.

The annual gathering of the work comp tribes begins today – I’m reprising a post from a couple years ago on lessons I’ve learned…

1.  Realize you can’t be everywhere and do everything. Prioritize.

2.  Leave time for last-minute meetings and the inevitable chance encounters with old friends and colleagues.

3.  Unless you have a photographic memory, use your smartphone to take voice notes from each meeting – right after you’re done – or write down key points immediately.  Otherwise they’ll all run together and you’ll never remember what you committed to.

4.  Introduce yourself to a dozen people you’ve never met.  This business is all about relationships and networking, and no better place to do that than this conference.

5.  Wear comfortable shoes, get your exercise in, and be professional and polished.  It’s a long three days, and you’re always ‘on’.

Finally, in these day of YouTube, phone cameras, Twitter, Instachat and SnapGram, what you do is public knowledge.  That slick dance move or intense conversation with a private equity exec just might re-appear – to your dismay.

And beware the white man’s overbite!!!

M&A activity in the world of workers’ comp services has been somewhat quiet of late, although there’s been some under-the-radar activity that – taken together – shows consolidation continues.

That’s no surprise…workers’ comp is a classic mature industry with all the attributes thereof. Scale is key, margins are tight, cost-cutting is constant, and funds for innovation scarce.

Here’s a quick roundup of recent activity from various sources…

Sedgwick is rumored to be doing a re-capitalization, another word for current investors cashing out a chunk of their equity. In my view TPAs are one of the very   few workers’ comp service sectors that have growth opportunity, so terms may be favorable. However, interest rates are still a drag (recaps almost always involve taking on a lot of debt) and of late private equity (PE) investors seem really hesitant to close on deals.

Of note, WC is just one of the insurance lines handled by the giant TPA – those other lines are in rough shape (more on that in a future post). I don’t know whether P&C carriers will be more or less interested in outsourcing work to TPAs for non-WC lines, but those calculations will undoubtedly weigh on potential investors’ enthusiasm for a Sedgwick transaction.

Ametros inhabits another sector that could be quite promising – handling funds from claims settlements. One of the extremely few companies that really gets marketing (which is NOT sales support or writing proposals), Ametros is rumored to be in the final stages of a sale/recap. While I like the company and the sector, reality is major growth is really dependent on what CMS does – or doesn’t do – re Medicare Set-Asides. CMS’ continued lack of a coherent, consistent, and clear policy on if/when MSAs are required for what lines of insurance is nonsensical, frustrating, and a disservice to we taxpayers.

Enlyte/Mitchell/Genex just completed the acquisition of Therapy Direct, a rather small PT management firm. Expect TD to be fully absorbed into Enlyte subsidiary Apricus with most functions assumed by Apricus’ current staff. Unfortunately, that’s just the way these things work; Enlyte gets a few more millions of revenue and reduces costs by cutting expenses. Classic mature industry growth…buying revenue to grow top-line. 

Lastly, any potential transactions for One Call are likely on hold pending resolution or conclusion of various legal issues involving current investors; word is some are suing others.

There are a couple others in various stages…will wait and see if things progress or not.

What does this mean for you?

In a highly mature industry, it’s

Scale. Efficiency. Differentiation. Service.