A key part to California’s sweeping workers’ compensation reform is working, according to a new study and the people running the system. More than 95 percent of workers’ comp medical treatment requests are approved following the utilization review and independent …
Editor’s Note: This is part of a team report on opioid use by injured workers. For the national story read: Opioid Epidemic Plagues Workers’ Comp Washington and California are among states in the U.S. Western Region that have publicly struggled …
Editor’s Note: This is part of a team report on opioid use by injured workers. For stories focused on particular regions click on the respective links below. The national “epidemic” of opioid usage has garnered a great deal of public …
It’s human nature to wait until the last minute to take care of business, and California legislators are a great example of that. The deadline to introduce bills in the Assembly and Senate is just over a day away: Feb. …
Think California’s new workers’ compensation reform law addressed just about every aspect of an unwieldy system which, few would argue, desperately needs fixing? Think again. A report on compounding drugs reveals the effects of another workers’ comp-related law enacted at …
Head and spinal injuries cost California’s workers’ compensation insurers more than $500 million over 10 years, according to the California Workers’ Compensation Institute’s “Injury Score Card.” The report issued on Wednesday reflects data on California work injury claims for head …
Workers’ compensation medical costs in California were boosted by nearly $67.5 million in 2010 due to loophole in the law that allows double billing for surgical implants, according to a study released on Wednesday by the California Workers’ Compensation Institute. …
It’s no surprise that pharmaceuticals are one of the leading drivers of workers’ compensation costs in California, but a study issued on Wednesday shows the skyrocketing cost of drug testing is taking a spot as a major cost driver in …
At a recent joint hearing in Sacramento on workers’ compensation in California with the Assembly and Senate, statistic after statistic flew out of the mouths of speaker after speaker during the nearly four-hour session. It was titled, “Informational Hearing, Injured …
An annual report from the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California shows that for the second consecutive year statewide workers’ compensation premiums levels rose in 2011, but that continually growing costs of claims has eroded statewide underwriting results. The …
