Insight, analysis & opinion from Joe Paduda
I’m posting this from the WCRI Annual conference in Boston. For those who have yet to attend, this is perhaps the best short conference on WC on the calendar. Topics this year include workers’ satisfaction survey results and the correlation … Continue reading
Read More...Insurance rates were trending down before Katrina, and risk managers who were lucky enough to lock in prices before the hurricane system got good coverage at lower prices. Those who did not renew before Katrina are getting hit with price … Continue reading Insurance rates up after Katrina
Read More...Two consulting firms are indicating health plan rate increases will be between 8.4% and 9.9% in 2006. While this is somewhat lower than increases in recent years, the impact will be felt by both employers and employees, who can expect … Continue reading Health plan rate increases in 2006
Read More...A new study indicates three quarters of US employers will increase employee contributions for health insurance in 2006 while a quarter will reduce pay increases as a result of higher health insurance premiums. The survey, a poll of 150 US … Continue reading Employee health insurance costs
Read More...There are signs that drug marketing is beginning to change, as the FDA focuses on off-label use and some of the big pharmas cut back on their sales forces. This may well be as part of big pharma’s efforts to … Continue reading Drug detailing, direct-to-consumer ads, and off-label use addressed
Read More...One of the newer ideas to hit employee benefit health plan design is tiering copayments according to the quality of the provider accessed by the insured. United Healthcare and Medica are two of the health plans that have introduced these … Continue reading Provider quality-based plan design
Read More...There has been some publicity recently regarding the possibility that there are fewer uninsured people in the US than the usual estimate of 45 million uninsureds. While this may be true, like many other arguments about statistics, if you get … Continue reading Why the uninsured are important to you
Read More...The Hartford has just released an internal study of the costs of prescription drugs in Workers’ Compensation, and while it only covers the company’s own experience, the report does add a little more depth to the research released by Health … Continue reading More on drugs in workers’ comp
Read More...HSA has completed the Second Annual Survey of Prescription Drug Management in Workers’ Compensation. Respondents represented a wide range of payers, with annual prescription drug spends ranging from $772,000 to $156 million. Total estimated drug costs provided by the respondents … Continue reading Prescription Drugs in Workers’ Comp
Read More...HSA has completed the second annual survey of prescription drug management in WC. Here are the (very brief) highlights… –overall trend rate was 12% (2004 over 2003) –WC Rx costs nationally estimated at $3.4 billion in 2004 –party “most responsible … Continue reading Prescription drug in Workers’ Comp
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