Note: Workers’ Comp Advisor will take its annual summer break starting Monday, July 1, and resume daily publication on Monday, July 15. Happy Fourth of July to all of our valued subscribers!
Enlyte Report Shows Per Procedure Increases Declining After 2x Rise
- Doctors’ charges per procedure performed in workers compensation claims jumped by 11% from 2020 through 2022, according to a new report from Enlyte.
- The Bureau of Labor and Statistics Consumer Price Index increased 7% during that same period.
- The report showed a 2% increase from 2022 to 2023 for medical services.
- Meanwhile, for the year to date, costs remained flat or “negligible” in high-volume workers compensation states, including Texas, New York, Florida and California.
- Enlyte based the report on data from professional service medical bills that it processed.
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Texas DWC Mulls Annual Certification for First Responder; Set Form Changes;
- The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation will consider new rules that will require a first responder receiving lifetime income benefits due to a serious bodily injury to file an annual certification with an insurance carrier that the first responder was not employed in any capacity during the preceding year.
- In a separate notice, the agency said it is seeking comments on a proposal to revise several forms, DWC Form-001, DWC Form-002, and DWC Form-006, including editorial changes to the forms and deleting obsolete violation language from 2005.
UNLV Shifts WC Processing to State Authority
- The University of Nevada, Las Vegas is moving the processing of all workers compensation injury reports to the Nevada System of Higher Education’s Risk Management Office, UNLV announced on Wednesday.
- The school did not provide a reason for the change. An email sent by Workers’ Comp Advisor was not immediately answered.
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Amazon Workers Start GoFundMe to Cover Expenses
- Three workers injured on the job at Amazon warehouses have started GoFundMe accounts to cover their expenses as they pursue workers’ compensation and disability benefits.
- As reported this week by The Guardian, the company has historically faced criticism from workers over the healthy and safety practices in its warehouse; the quality of its medical care unit; and the complexity of its processes for securing accommodations, compensation, and benefits following job-related injuries.
- One of the workers, Christine Manno, told the newspaper that she started a GoFundMe account because “They keep telling me they need more documentation, yet workers compensation won’t let me see a doctor to get more documentation, but I can’t get treatment because when they know it’s a work injury, they won’t authorize treatment through health insurance.”
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