California Commissioner Rejects Workers’ Comp Bureau Rate Increase

Citing testimony that self-insured employers have been able to reduce overall workers’ compensation costs, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has rejected the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau’s request for a pure premium rate increase of 23.7 percent.

While the Department of Insurance does not set workers’ comp insurance rates, an increase in the cost benchmark usually leads to workers’ compensation insurance premium increases.

“My response to this requested record increase by workers’ comp insurance companies is this – no. I will not include avoidable costs in the Benchmark”, Poizner said. “Because of the faltering economy, record unemployment levels, and objections to the proposed increase from employers, I have focused on whether insurers and other parties in the workers’ comp system are exhausting every available avenue to control costs before granting any increase to the Benchmark.”

Poizner said self-insured employers face the same medical inflation and other cost drivers challenging the rest of the industry yet have been able to cut costs in other areas that have resulted in a net decrease in overall workers’ compensation costs. “The evidence presented at a Department of Insurance investigatory hearing provided a dramatic demonstration of the failure of insurers to adequately utilize the cost containment tools given to them by the legislature, thereby allowing unnecessary costs to creep into the workers’ compensation system,” he said.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger applauded the Commissioner’s decision, saying it would have had an overwhelmingly negative impact on businesses, employees and California’s economy. “Now is not the time to impose additional costs on employers especially given the current economic climate,” he said.

On March 27, 2009, the WCIRB submitted a pure premium rate filing proposing a 24.4 percent increase in the overall pure premium rate level, or “claims cost benchmark”, effective July 1, 2009.

WCIRB said recently an insurer submitted revised aggregate financial data calls, which reduced the indicated July 1, 2009 increase in the claims cost benchmark to 23.7 percent. The WCIRB amended its filing on April 23, 2009, to reflect the revised data calls.

Poizner held an investigatory hearing in early June to examine the increasing medical costs in the workers’ compensation system. During that hearing, he said he heard testimony that indicated insurers were not realizing efficiencies to bring down the costs in the system, including failing to achieve a balance between cost and benefit with medical provider networks and utilization review, and are not communicating effectively with medical providers.

Earlier, Poizner had asked the WCIRB to withdraw the portion of the increase related to the Almaraz/Guzman and Ogilvie decisions by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board.

As a result of the June hearing, Commissioner Poizner has released an outline for areas where the workers’ comp system can achieve further efficiencies. He expects the industry to implement many of these changes before he will consider a positive rate change to the Benchmark. Among highlights of the 27 recommendations:

• All insurers should implement pharmacy networks with or without regulations based upon the example set by Safeway and the fact that the provisions of Labor Code Section 4600.2 do not require regulations as a prerequisite.
• Regulations should be implemented regarding physician dispensing of pharmaceuticals. Legislation may be necessary to deal with this.
• Utilization Review needs some utilization review of itself. If a majority of medical requests are going to utilization review and are approved, it is not effective.
• Require billing and payment at fee schedule.
• DWC should update the fee schedule immediately and continue to do it as an ongoing process.
• Regulations for electronic billing and a standard medical bill form need to be implemented.

Poizner also created a Workers’ Compensation Costs Advisory Group comprised of a cross-section of all participants that will meet on an ongoing basis.

Topics California Trends Legislation Workers' Compensation Pricing Trends