Quote of the day
"Californians should bear in mind that the reduced costs of workers' compensation to employers benefit not just business owners. Thousands of new jobs have also been created throughout the state as a direct result of the savings."
Editorial, San Jose Mercury News
Commentary: Workers’ Comp ‘Barely an Issue’ in Race for Governor
Two years after the bipartisan legislation became law, workers’ compensation is barely an issue during the current gubernatorial campaign. That’s good news for California employers and workers. San Jose Mercury News
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PPO One Upcoming Change for BrickStreet Policyholders
Nearly a year after West Virginia moved from a state-run to a private workers’ compensation system, BrickStreet Mutual says policyholders should expect more changes, including a new preferred provider organization intended to help limit costs and eliminate from the system physicians who helped patients stay on workers’ comp longer than necessary. By Naomi Smoot, the Journal (Martinsburg, Va.)
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Online Service Allows Workers’ Comp Coverage Verification
The West Virginia Insurance Commission is offering a new online service that allows the public, government agencies, contractors, businesses or anyone that relies on proof of coverage certificates to verify whether an employer has workers’ compensation coverage. Charleston Daily Mail
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‘Disabled’ Ohio Worker Taped Delivering Books to BWC
An Ohio man who had been collecting workers’ compensation for 20 years in connection with a purportedly severe back injury is caught on surveillance tape delivering a load of phonebooks to the Cleveland office of the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. An anonymous call that he was working again was the tip-off. NBC4i (Columbus) [With Slideshow, Video] Go to the Full Story…
Noe Trial Watch: Lawyers Use Play Money to Prove Their Point
The prosecution and defense in the corruption trial of Ohio coin dealer Tom Noe use plastic containers stuffed with fake cash representing the $50 million rare-coin fund that Noe managed for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, his private coin business and those who received payments from Noe. The indicted businessman’s lawyers use the exhibit to argue that there is no way to definitively track whether state money or their client’s money was used for any payment. By Mark Niquette, Columbus Dispatch
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Report: Ohio MCOs Referring Therapy Business to Affiliates
Managed care firms overseeing injured-worker cases for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation reportedly have referred more than $103 million in state-funded rehabilitation therapy work to firms with which they have business ties.
By AP via Akron Beacon Journal
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Peach State Candidates Say They Know How to Cut Costs
The two men vying to run Georgia’s insurance regulatory office both say they can keep insurance rates down, but offer conflicting plans on how to do that. By Vicky Eckenrode, Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville)
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NYCOSH Official Discusses Preserving Sept. 11 Responder Filing Rights
The public affairs director of the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health discusses a change in New York State’s Workers’ Compensation Law that will allow Sept. 11 rescue, recovery and clean-up workers to register to preserve the right to file for workers’ compensation benefits. By Jonathan Bennett via LOHO 10002 (New York) [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…