Insight, analysis & opinion from Joe Paduda
Texas will be publishing ‘report cards’ for physicians treating workers comp patients, but won’t include opioid prescribing patterns as a criterion. That’s unfortunate – at best. According to a piece by Bill Kidd in WorkCompCentral, the DWC – not the … Continue reading Texas’ DWC misses the mark
Read More...If the requirement that every individual have health insurance is overturned by the Supreme Court, workers’ comp costs will increase over the near term and get worse from there. If the mandate sticks, costs will likely moderate somewhat, then increase … Continue reading Repeal of the mandate; Bad news for workers’ comp?
Read More...A couple days ago a shadowy equity “research” outfit that goes by the name Copperfield Research published what can only be described as a hatchet job, with CorVel the target. I’m no fan of CorVel – their business model makes … Continue reading Copperfield Research’s CorVel hatchet job
Read More...With the release of WCRI’s latest report – this on on outpatient facility surgery costs – I’ll have to leave the next and last wave of crystal ball gazing to tomorrow. That’ll ensure it has a full charge before I … Continue reading Work Comp Outpatient facility costs – the summary
Read More...This morning’s opening session at the WCRI packed more insight into an hour than anyone could reasonably expect to digest. That’s not a criticism but rather a compliment directed at the four speakers. First, the macro view as provided by … Continue reading Which states have the most narcotic usage and what’s working?
Read More...After all the discussion of drugs and their role in pain management, and the problems inherent in using drugs for pain. MedRisk CEO Shelley Boyce introduced experts from the Netherlands and the US. There are several key differences between the … Continue reading Treating chronic pain: alternatives to opioids
Read More...Exactly what role should government have in health care? What does Rick Perry think? And more importantly, what has Perry done? There’s a good deal of evidence that Perry used his position and influence to award millions in taxpayer dollars … Continue reading Rick Perry, government and health care
Read More...Health plan medical trend was up a paltry 1.7% in 2010, the lowest rate in memory. On a per member – per month (PMPM) basis, medical trend was just barely above one percent, and by far the lowest rate seen … Continue reading Medical inflation’s down – should we start cheering?
Read More...NCCI released its 2011 pharmacy study yesterday, and there’s not much in the way of good news. Here are a few of the major take-aways from the research, which used 2009 data. – per-claim drug costs grew by 12% in … Continue reading Work Comp pharmacy in 2009 – more dollars, more opioids, more physician dispensing
Read More...Three speakers in the final IAIABC session focused on the future of workers comp and factors affecting same. Allen Hunt of the University of Wisconsin started out discussing the factors contributing to the current deficit. In a nutshell, he doesn’t … Continue reading Work comp’s future – IAIABC’s closing session
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