Obesity Linked to Workers’ Comp

June 23, 2023

Overweight workers more prone to injuries

  • Employees with overweight and obesity may have a higher loss of work productivity as measured by absenteeism, short and long-term disability, and worker’s comp compared to employees with normal weight, according to Clare J. Lee of Eli Lilly & Company in Indianapolis.
  • Researchers found costs associated with absenteeism, short and long-term disability, and worker’s compensation were $891, $623, $41, and $112 higher per year (respectively) for people with obesity compared to those with normal weight.
  • The researchers evaluated 719,482 employees with and without obesity in the MarketScan databases.
  • They determined the percentage of employees with work loss, the number of hours/days lost from work, and costs associated with productivity loss were higher among people with overweight or obesity.
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St. Francis to pay $36.5M to settle allegations under False Claims Act

  • Columbia, South Carolina-based St. Francis Physician Services, Inc., St. Francis Hospital, and Bon Secours St. Francis Health System, Inc., owner and operator of the St. Francis healthcare system, agreed to pay $36.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act, the Federal Stark Law.
  • The hospital also violated Federal Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) by making payments to orthopedic surgeons that were tied to the volume or value of referrals.
  • The settlement resolves allegations that St. Francis caused the submission of false claims to Medicare and to TRICARE as a result of an unlawful contractual payment structure between St. Francis and Piedmont Orthopedic Associates, whereby POA’s compensation was tied to the volume or value of the practice’s referrals to St. Francis.
  • It is alleged that St. Francis’s bonus payments to POA physicians violated both the Stark Law and the AKS.
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Workers comp’ grant going toward traffic light

  • A $40,000 Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation grant is going toward a portable traffic light unit in the Village of Wintersville in Ohio.
  • This traffic light will benefit so many different agencies from police and fire to road crews and so much more.
  • This new unit will also add another layer of safety for workers on the roadways, according to Village Administrator Jesse Kosegi.
  • The equipment in the next six weeks.
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Labor Dept. launches benefits outreach program for nuclear weapons workers

  • The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced that the Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation will host a series of outreach events in Arizona and New Mexico for current and former nuclear weapons workers.
  • This group includes uranium miners, millers, and ore transporters from covered facilities, and their families from June 27 to 29, 2023.
  • The event will help serve members of the Navajo Nation eligible for these federal benefits under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.
  • The events require no pre-registration to attend and is open to the public.
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