Massachusetts Finds Injured Workers at Higher Opioid Death Risk

• People injured on the job were 35% more likely to die of an opioid overdose, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) has found.
• The data shows for the first time a link between work-associated injury and pain and opioid prescription and disorder, the study’s authors wrote.
• The 28% of the 741 Massachusetts workers who were previously injured at work and who died of an opioid-related overdose between 2011 and 2020 had worked in construction and extraction occupations, according to the data.
• The state report cautioned that it may not represent the complete picture as the data do not include workers who were injured on the job but who did not file a workers’ compensation claim.
• “This cohort may include immigrant and undocumented workers who may be less likely to file a workers’ compensation claim or may experience barriers to filing one,” the authors wrote.
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Maine Employers’ Mutual Outlook Hiked to Stable by AM Best

• AM Best’s outlook on three companies operating under Maine Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company has been revised to stable from negative, the rating agency said Thursday.
• Known collectively as MEMIC Group, the revision reflects the group’s sustained improved operating results that compare more favorably with AM Best’s workers’ compensation composite, it said.
• The agency cited the balance sheet effect from a recent reduction in common stock leverage. The surplus has been enhanced by positive operating results as well as the issuance of the long-term $30 million surplus note. 
• “The group is well-positioned for further premium growth and plans to sustain modest underwriting profitability over the next several years,” it said.
• The group insures and serves more than 20,000 employers and their estimated 300,000 employees from Maine to Florida, according to its website
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