Texas Workers’ Comp Commissioner to Leave Post May 1

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The Texas Department of Insurance announced that Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Ryan Brannan will leave his position effective May 1.

Brannan was appointed to lead the Texas Department of Insurance’s, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) in August 2014 by Gov. Rick Perry and reappointed twice by Gov. Greg Abbott.

In TDI’s release, Brannan said he takes pride in what the DWC has achieved during his tenure and is “grateful to both Gov. Abbott and former Gov. Perry for this opportunity” to serve.

Stating it is time to take on new challenges, Brannan added: “While I am excited about what lies ahead, I will never forget all the great people I’ve worked with at this division.”

During his four years at DWC, Brannan led the development of a fraud and prosecution unit, created a paperless initiative that included digitizing millions of claims, initiated revisions to letters to injured employees to make them easier to read, and developed rules to open the door to telemedicine and curtailing the use of compound drugs and dangerous opioids in workers’ compensation.

Before taking over as workers’ comp commissioner, Brannan was an advisor in the Governor’s Office Division of Budget, Planning and Policy, where he focused on issues relating to the insurance industry, including property and casualty insurance, workers’ compensation, healthcare, public health and health and life insurance.

Brannan succeeded Rod Bordelon, who had served as workers’ comp commissioner for six years when he resigned in August 2014.

TDI’s Division of Workers’ Compensation regulates the workers’ compensation system in Texas, ensuring injured workers receive the necessary benefits to quickly return to work, and that workers’ compensation costs are kept at a reasonable level for Texas employers.

His term expires Feb. 1, 2019, so Abbott will have the option of appointing an interim commissioner to fill the position until then.