Insight, analysis & opinion from Joe Paduda
I’ve stayed away from most of the COVID stuff because Tom Lynch at WorkersCompInsider has been… as the kids say…crushing it. Yesterday’s news that Moderna, a new company in Massachusetts reported very early results from tests of a potential vaccine … Continue reading COVID update – hope for the best, plan for the worst.
Read More...Hospitals are drowning in red ink. In many states, workers’ comp is the lifeline. Privately-insured patients are avoiding hospitals while those facilities have spent huge dollars to buy PPE, make modifications, and ensure they are ready for a COVID19 patient … Continue reading It’s the facility costs, folks.
Read More...Apologies for not getting this out sooner; wanted to wait until I heard back from NCCI on a couple items. Quick hits Insurers are enjoying record profits. Frequency is down again – continuing a 30+ year downward trend. Medical costs … Continue reading NCCI – quick hits, a deeper dive, and a critique
Read More...While we’re still wrapping our heads around COVID19, it is increasingly clear the pandemic will have implications for the workers’ comp industry that are deep and broad. Perhaps the most important is the change in claim type. Historically, 95% of … Continue reading COVID19’s impact on workers’ comp – claim type
Read More...As of this morning 23,459 US deaths have been attributed to COVID19. That number is almost certainly too low. The words “have been attributed” were carefully chosen – note I did NOT write “COVID19 killed 23,459 people” or “23,459 people … Continue reading COVID19 – what’s the real death count?
Read More...The small business sector is in deep trouble – with big implications for workers’ comp – starting with what looks like an 8% decrease in monthly premiums and equivalents due to massive layoffs and business closures. Without immediate funding from … Continue reading COVID, small business, and workers’ comp
Read More...The President and the Governor of my home state (New York) are all in on chloroquine and variations thereof. Spoiler alert – there is no credible evidence that chloroquine is effective in treating COVID19. And lots of evidence that the … Continue reading COVID19 and Chloroquine – what does the science say?
Read More...We are in the opening inning of the Covid-19 pandemic, so forecasting where this will end up is a fool’s game. That said, we know and can confidently predict a couple things well worth considering. Small business A lot of … Continue reading Covid-19 and workers’ comp
Read More...After weeks of speculation – most of it pretty accurate – it’s official. In one of the more impactful transactions we’re likely to see this year, CVS/Aetna has agreed to sell Coventry Workers’ Comp Services to Mitchell/Genex. Terms haven’t been … Continue reading The Coventry deal is done.
Read More...We know work comp medical costs are not increasing; the question is, how does this impact stakeholders? Employers are pretty happy; comp costs as a percentage of payroll are at or near an all-time low. Insurers are doing great; combined … Continue reading Work comp medical trend is flat – implications abound!
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