Insight, analysis & opinion from Joe Paduda
Several weeks ago Ohio’s state work comp fund – the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation – selected a new PBM to replace OptumRx. This has me thinking more broadly about the vendor-customer relationship and how that’s evolving. First, buyers are getting … Continue reading BWC Ohio picks a new Pharmacy Benefit Manager
Read More...To what extent are utilization reviewers care providers? That was NOT the central question argued yesterday in the King v CompPartners case before the California Supreme Court. The case appears straightforward; the plaintiff was prescribed Kolonopin, which was denied after going … Continue reading King v CompPartners and the Duty of Care
Read More...Dr Bob Hartwig of the University of South Carolina gave his annual whirlwind tour of all things economic. The net – his talk was an exuberant paean to the US economy – and the impact of that economy on workers comp. … Continue reading Hartwig on the economy and workers’ comp
Read More...Kudos to NCCI for including an excellent discussion of blockchain in this year’s Annual Issues Symposium. (Prior posts on blockchain are here.) This is starting with reinsurance; a good summary is in presenter Paul Meeusen’s summary slide below. Meeusen and … Continue reading Blockchain’s getting more real in work comp
Read More...NCCI’s Raji Chadarevian discussed opioid utilization, price, and cost at NCCI’s AIS 2018. 6 percent of opioid medications used in workers’ comp is for treating opioid use disorder; methadone and suboxone are the drugs of choice. The older the claim … Continue reading Opioids, marijuana, pain, and workers’ comp
Read More...After the boys’ annual mountain bike trip – this time to Sedona AZ – its back to work. Off to Orlando to take in NCCI’s Annual Issues Symposium; I’ll be live-blogging a few of the sessions, starting with the State … Continue reading Headed to NCCI
Read More...Some variation of “single payer” healthcare is going to happen, for one simple reason – the current “healthcare system” is going to blow up. People are broke, fed up, and angry – and support Medicare for All. Health insurance is … Continue reading Single payer is inevitable.
Read More...I’ve lauded the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Comp for their great successes reducing opioid usage. But, I’ve heard from many stakeholders that Ohio’s got a unique advantage; BWC is both the regulator AND the payor, so they get to do … Continue reading The State Fund is solving opioids
Read More...Who thought the much-feared Federalization of workers comp would result in this. A new regulation finalized by the US Department of Labor on April 1 overturns state requirements for workers’ compensation, while limiting employers’ liability for occupational injuries or illnesses. President Trump … Continue reading Federalization of work comp; death by DOL?
Read More...Randy Lea MD of the Dartmouth Institute (one of the nation’s leading healthcare research organizations, and my personal favorite) just completed research on value-based care (VBC) in work comp – a timely and much-needed project. Dr Lea presented at last … Continue reading Value-based care in Work Comp
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