Measure would provide more transparency

• A Nevada Senate Bill 274 was passed by the Assembly unanimously after it absorbed Assembly Bill 441, another bill related to changing the workers’ compensation system.
• The bill will make multiple changes to the system, including increasing transparency and allowing for injured worker claims to be handled by adjusters outside of Nevada, rather than just in the state.
• Prior to the bill’s passage, if an insurer or self-insured employer was fined for failing to comply with workers’ compensation laws, that information would have been shielded from the public.
• Senate Bill 274 requires the fines and penalties to be published in a public forum, bringing accountability to insurers for failing to pay injured workers who won their cases.
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COVID-19 Likely Contributed to Indemnity Benefit Trends in Massachusettes

• Indemnity benefits per claim in Massachusetts decreased by 7% in 2021 following an increase in the previous year. Duration of temporary disability was a major driver of indemnity trends in both years, according to the WCRI.
• The average duration of temporary disability decreased nearly 7 percent in 2021, following a 10% increase in 2020.
• The average duration of temporary disability remained higher than before the pandemic, similar to most other study states.
• The average indemnity benefit per claim in Massachusetts was 14% higher than the median study state for 2019 claims.
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Pharmacist sentenced for fraud scheme

• A Virginia man was recently sentenced to two years in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare of over $1 million in prescription drug benefits.
• According to court documents, Ronald A. Beasley II of Portsmouth was the pharmacist in charge at NH Pharma, a pharmacy located in Lake Mary, Florida.
• Through NH Pharma, Beasley and his co-conspirators billed Medicare for expensive compound drug creams that they never actually purchased or dispensed, instead providing Medicare patients an inexpensive compound drug cream that Medicare did not cover.
• In fact, NH Pharma did not buy enough of the expensive prescription drugs to fill all the prescriptions NH Pharma billed to Medicare and received more than $1 million in fraudulent Medicare proceeds.
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Workers’ comp and seasonal employees

• The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Actt covers full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees.
• Summer employees who are paid and injured while acting in the course and scope of their employment are afforded the same workers’ compensation benefits as year-round paid employees.
• Unpaid summer workers who are injured while acting in the course and scope of their employment are typically not covered, except in rare instances where they are performing the same duties as paid employees.
• Employers must know that when they employ minors, failure to abide by state employment laws leads to consequences in workers’ compensation payments.
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