Average payments in California rise
- A new report by the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California showed payments continue to increase
- Overall medical payments per claim increased significantly, mostly driven by increases in the payments per transaction.
- The 2021 Medical-Legal Fee Schedule and 2021 updates to the reimbursement allowance for evaluation and management services drove up the average payments per service as well as medical payment share for both medical-legal services and evaluation and management services in 2021 compared to the prior two years.
- Office or other outpatient service procedures continued to grow and are the fastest-growing physician service in 2021.
Man charged with workers’ comp fraud, larceny, perjury
- A Massachusetts man was recently arrested and charged with illegally collecting $86,648.08 in workers’ comp and transportation benefits while being employed as a correctional officer in Connecticut.
- Matthew Hubbard of Agawam, Mass., was arrested by Inspectors from the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney.
- He was charged with one count of Larceny in the first degree by defrauding a public community, one count of fraudulent claim or receipt of benefits, and one count of perjury.
- While receiving workers’ compensation benefits, Hubbard also was working as a real estate agent and reserve Police Officer in Massachusetts.
Winners of 2022 Green Cross for Safety Awards announced
- The National Safety Council honored three organizations working toward and succeeding in preventing injuries and saving lives with its renowned Green Cross for Safety awards.
- Mothers Against Drunk Driving won the War Room Safety Advocate Award for helping reduce drunk driving deaths by 52% through education and enforcement campaigns.
- U. S. Steel won the Safety Excellence Award, for its Minnesota Ore Operations, consisting of two open pit taconite mines located in the state to supply the organization with iron ore pellets.
- Fatigue Science won the Safety Innovation Award, for looking at the pervasive issue of fatigue the workplace, Fatigue Science found workers in safety-sensitive industries, such as mining and trucking.
The psychology of dealing with injured workers
- A person’s psychosocial makeup can impact their recovery when they’re injured on the job.
- These workers can return to work more effectively by identifying high-risk factors and applying early intervention tactics.
- Questionnaires are an effective tool for identifying issues that might affect an injured employee’s recovery time from a work injury.
- Low- and moderate-risk individuals can usually be managed with proper education, but high-risk candidates might require additional resources.