COVID claims decreasing
- The National Council on Compensation Insurance recently released phase II of COVID-19 and workers’ compensation.
- On average, COVID-19 claims decreased from 11% of workers’ compensation lost-time claims reported in AY 2020 to 4% in AY 2021 across the jurisdictions included in the study.
- Approximately 75% of reported COVID-19 lost-time claims were from the healthcare sector, while that sector only accounts for about 9% of non-COVID-19 lost-time claims.
- Indemnity-only claims, while uncommon for non-COVID-19 claims, continued to represent the largest share of COVID-19 claims.
Indemnity claims rise in The Golden State
- Workers comp prices rose in California in recent years, according to a report by the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California.
- Even after controlling for regional differences in wages and industry mix, indemnity claim frequency is significantly higher in the Los Angeles Basin and significantly lower in the San Francisco Bay Area.
- During the pandemic, indemnity claim frequency rose significantly in Orange County relative to the rest of the state and decreased significantly in Ventura and Santa Monica/San Fernando Valley.
- The share of cumulative trauma claims as a percent of all claims increased for all regions during the pandemic. The increase was largest in San Bernardino/West Riverside and LA/Long Beach.
Florida man sentenced for wire fraud
- Ricky Gonzales was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison in Florida for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States.
- The court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $500,731.13, the proceeds of the wire-fraud conspiracy.
- Gonzales, who had pleaded guilty to the charges, owned and managed a construction company that purported to supply construction services and labor for construction contractors and subcontractors.
- In order to comply with Florida law, the company that Gonzales operated was required to secure and maintain adequate worker’s compensation insurance coverage.
Medical claims fall in Michigan
- The average medical payment per claim decreased by 4 percent in Michigan for 2020 injuries with experience through March 2021, according to WCRI.
- This decline is related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Over the earlier period from 2015 to 2019, medical payments per claim grew 4 percent per year.
- Prices paid and utilization of professional services have been mostly stable since 2015, including small changes in 2020.