Insight, analysis & opinion from Joe Paduda
There is NO reason, no rationale, no logic behind docs dispensing drugs to workers comp claimants. Proponents claim it is better care, leading to speedier recovery and lower costs. We long suspected the opposite is true; that is, claimants … Continue reading Yet more evidence doc dispensing is a disaster
Read More...At the closing session at NCCI, Barry Lipton reported on their research on MSAs, research based in large part on 2200 files provided by Gould & Lamb. In 2011, CMS approved $1.1 billion of MSAs… Key findings MSA dollars account … Continue reading Medicare Set-Asides – current data says…
Read More...I was in Atlanta most of the week at the third annual Rx Drug Abuse Summit, a terrific-if-somewhat-depressing meeting of 1300 folks focused on ending the abuse of prescription drugs. I’ll do a series of posts on this next week; … Continue reading Friday’s the-week-was-a-blur post
Read More...Opioids, ACOEM’s new guidelines, compounds, and, alas, physician dispensing. Here’s a quick guide to the top issues and sources for additional info. Opioids continue to plague the industry; while many PBMs and payers are having some success in reducing the use … Continue reading Drugs and work comp – top issues are…
Read More...Alex Swedlow, a certified rock star in the world of work comp analytics, held forth on medical dispute resolution as it exists in California. MDR covers conflicts around the cost, utilization, and “standard of care”, these are evaluated against regulations, … Continue reading WCRI – California’s Work Comp Medical Dispute Resolution
Read More...For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. Thank you, HL Mencken, for describing the problem inherent in picking a workers’ comp PBM based on how much they charge for drugs. It is … Continue reading The price of the pill is so last century
Read More...The California Applicant Attorney’s Association says there’s a BIG problem with UR in California, and a recent analysis by CWCI is flawed and inaccurate. I don’t see it. Greg Jones’ piece in yesterday’s edition of WorkCompCentral digs deep into the … Continue reading UR in California’s a BIG problem…or not
Read More...The week flew by, so I’m running to catch up on things I should’ve posted on earlier. Looks like mother Aetna is getting her arms around Coventry work comp; reports indicate about three dozen Coventry work comp IT folks were … Continue reading Friday’s catch up and quick takes
Read More...I’m only aware of three major work comp insurers (Travelers, BWC-Ohio, Washington L&I) that have pharmacists on staff; the North Dakota State Fund does as well. With pharmacy costs accounting for somewhere around 15% of total medical spend, that seems … Continue reading Why don’t workers’ comp payers have pharmacists on staff?
Read More...Lots happening this week – here’s a few notable events. First, WCRI’s webinar on physician dispensing, opioids, and physician prescribing patterns. A couple key takeaways: after FL banned doc dispensing of potent opioids, almost all the docs who were prescribing and dispensing … Continue reading Friday catch-up and heads-up
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