Insight, analysis & opinion from Joe Paduda
Two seemingly-unrelated papers hit the inbox yesterday; CWCI’s just-completed analysis of opioid usage in the Golden State, and NCCI’s report on 2019 workers’ comp financials. The key takeaways from NCCI’s report include: Premiums are expected to drop 10 percent in … Continue reading Opioids and work comp premiums
Read More...Workers’ comp has done an admirable job reducing the volume and potency of opioids dispensed to work comp patients. This from our latest Survey of Prescription Drug Management in Workers’ Comp… The question is – how many work comp patients … Continue reading Where have all the work comp opioid patients gone?
Read More...Reportedly Purdue Pharma, the fine folk behind OxyContin, is nearing a settlement with 23 state attorneys general and thousands of other governmental entities. Here are the key takeaways: this does NOT appear to be a universal settlement; other state AGs, … Continue reading The Purdue Opioid “settlement” – key takeaways for workers’ comp
Read More...The hammer is starting to fall on the opioid industry and the repercussions are echoing thru the comp industry. J&J owes Oklahoma $573 million after losing its case in the state Purdue Pharma’s owners are trying to settle all suits … Continue reading Chronic pain, opioids, and workers’ comp
Read More...It’s been a decade since work comp payers and PBMs got the big wakeup call, the one that changed the industry. From looking at drugs just as an expense, the industry began to see how devastating these drugs were to … Continue reading Work comp vs. opioids – how we’re doing
Read More...We’ve just about completed the 16th (!!) Survey of Prescription Drug Management in Workers’ Comp, and there are two key findings you need to know. First – total opioid spend in 2018 dropped 23.2% across all 27 respondents (ranging from … Continue reading The latest data on opioids in work comp
Read More...Happy Friday! It’s Research Roundup time. Here’s my quick takeaways on new research – and how it affects you. WCRI on the interaction of health insurance and workers’ comp Bogdan Savych PhD of WCRI has provided an excellent review of … Continue reading Worker outcomes, opioid reductions, and prices for drugs and hospitals
Read More...That’s the key lesson from today’s session on Dealing with legacy opioid claims at IAIABC’s 104th Convention. BWC Ohio’s Nick Trego PharmD, State Fund of California’s Chief Medical Officer Dinesh Govindarao MD, Washington L&I Medical Director Gary Franklin MD MPH, … Continue reading Chronic opioids can be solved
Read More...72,000 kids, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, best friends died last year from opioid overdoses. Things are so bad that despite the ever-climbing death toll, news reports announcing the butcher’s bill manage to sound somewhat positive, citing reductions in deaths in … Continue reading The Opioid Update
Read More...The reason opioid abuse disorder (OAD) is such a huge problem is because no one’s figured out how to a) fix it while b) making a shipload of money. Sure, there are “solutions” that address bits and pieces including: urine … Continue reading Why we’re not solving opioid addiction
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