Net premiums increased for workers’ comp

• The NCCI released its 2023 Workers Compensation Financial Results Update, which provides financial results for the workers’ compensation insurance line of business for 2022, as well as preliminary information for 2023.
• Private carrier net written premium increased from 2021 by 11.3% to $42.5 billion
• In the calendar year 2022, the private carrier combined ratio was 84.0%, and the operating gain was 24.6%
• Also, 2023 private carrier direct written premium (DWP) increased 5% through the first half of 2023, compared with DWP through the first half of 2022
• Private carrier direct loss ratio through the first half of 2023 is at 47%, the same as that observed through the first half of 2022.
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• New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that employers are expected to save more than $50 million in 2024 due to a reduction in the annual workers’ compensation assessment rate, which was set today and goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2024.
• Employers pay an annual assessment to operate the New York State workers’ compensation system, which provides critical benefits to workers who are injured or become ill because of their job while protecting employers from costly lawsuits.
• The projected savings will reduce the current assessment costs for all New York State employers, which will be especially helpful to more than 400,000 small businesses across the state.
• For 2024, the rate will be 9.2% of the standard premium or premium equivalent, a 6% decrease from 2023, which is expected to save New York State businesses about $53 million.
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DEA executes ‘Operation Bottleneck’

• The DEA announced that it is taking action against several companies over improper handling of opioids.
• The agency served an “immediate suspension order” and five “orders to show cause” between Sept. 25 and Oct. 20, 2023.
• The companies that were issued the “order to show cause” during “Operation Bottleneck” were: Ascent Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Quantum Commerce, Shrieve Chemical Company, LLC,  Atlantic Biologicals Corporation, and  TexasInmar RX Solutions, Inc.
• “These companies have a legal obligation to account for every dose and every pill to protect the safety and health of the American people,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram.
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