Archives for November 2016

NCCI Affordable Care Act Analysis – With Political Twist

November 18, 2016 By JL Risk Management Consultants

NCCI Affordable Care Act Analysis Interesting Conclusion

The recent NCCI Affordable Care Act Analysis synthesized a very interesting conclusion. The National Council on Compensation Insurance is based in Boca Raton, FL. At first glance, along with this article, the NCCI estimated that removal of the Affordable Care Act would likely cost employers 3 – 5% in additional costs.

Certificate of Affordable Care Act Analysis emblem from website

Wikimedia Commons – Careilly5801

Dr. Richard Victor (former WCRI CEO) had performed an exemplary cost analysis of case shifting from health to Workers Comp, not vice-versa as was implied by the recent NCCI study.

The NCCI Affordable Care Act Analysis front page can be found here. One can likely draw the conclusion that a reduction in obesity by the existence of the ACA would cut Workers Comp costs. I could not wrap my head around that conclusion without reading into the study further.

When the word might appears in a study conclusion, I immediately look to see what statistical basis the conclusion was drawn from overall. The initiatives by the Affordable Care Act would supposedly reduce the obesity rate from 35% to 25% which could reduce WC costs indirectly.

Graphic Of Statistical Analysis Affordable Care Act Analysis Logistic

However, the obesity rates in the US have never been reduced, but instead have increased each year. I even perused the appendices to see if there was some type of statistical analysis drawn. However, there was just nothing there. Earlier this month, I had written an article on the associated study that the ACA does not crowd out WC patients’ access to care.

More reading and analysis may be required for me to draw any final conclusions. As of now, I just do not see the supporting statistics for the 3 – 5% reduction in Workers Comp costs. The NCCI Affordable Care Act analysis may be somewhere else on their website. I will keep searching.

Please note – I wrote this story with jet lag and being stranded in a foreign airport. If I missed something, please add in the comments section or email me. Thanks.

©J&L Risk Management Inc Copyright Notice

President Elect vs Workers Comp – What Did Trump Say?

November 15, 2016 By JL Risk Management Consultants

The President Elect vs Workers Comp – A Search

Will the President elect vs Workers Comp play nice together for at least the next four years? I decided to attempt a Google search to see if Mr. Trump has ever mentioned WC. You can do the same search here by clicking this link.

Trump President Elect vs Workers Comp Picture

Wikipedia – Sgt. Jette Carr

Many articles mentioned Mr. Trump and Workers Comp. Most mentioned the two terms indirectly or were just purely one-sided political articles. The articles were not that analytical nor were they informative. Most were making fun of him as a candidate – oh my.

Many articles are in the blog that point to what happens if one candidate or another would win an election. The articles on Romney vs. Obama pointed out a major fact. The local races will have more of an effect on Workers Comp. Workers Comp operates on a state-by-state basis.

For instance, the current North Carolina Insurance Commissioner lost his reelection bid after holding the position since 2009. The Governor’s races would have some effect.

A state insurance commissioner race affects the Workers Comp rules and laws much more than a Federal level post or elected office. A possible outcome builds off the fact that the economy may improve over the next four years. As workers return to or try new jobs, injuries will spike or at least increase enough to be noticeable.

The President-elect vs Workers Comp may never be an issue. We shall see.

©J&L Risk Management Inc Copyright Notice

NCCI Affordable Care Act Analysis – Interesting Study

November 3, 2016 By JL Risk Management Consultants

Venerable NCCI Affordable Care Act Analysis

The NCCI Affordable Care Act (ACA) study was taken from their Workers Comp Update 2016 Fall Edition (page 54 of PDF). Please note that this is a large file. If you are working in the Work Comp industry, it may be worth your time to download the publication. The NCCI (National Council on Compensation Insurance) is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. They provide Workers Comp ratings for approximately 40 states among many varied data services.

Analysis Presentation NCCI Affordable Care Act Of Woman Vector

StockUnlimited

WCRI (Workers Comp Research Institute) has published a few articles and studies on the probable/possible case shifting caused by the ACA to Workers Compensation. In fact, Dr. Richard Victor (Former President) presented the WCRI’s findings at their 2016 Annual Conference in Boston. Dr. Victor inferred t there was some evidence, while preliminary, that due to the ACA, there was case shifting from health care to Workers Comp. You may wish to follow the links for further reading.

Leonard Herk, PhD, Economist, performed a hybrid study of the accessibility to Primary Care in the year before and after the enactment of the ACA. Dr. Herk examined the differences between urgent care treatment access in the years 2013 and 2014. Just coming up with a baseline for comparison was very unique.

Conclusion

The conclusion drawn in the study was that the ACA primary care treatment did not “crowd out” the availability of Workers Comp treatment in the same urgent care centers per each state. The ACA numbers included Medicaid, expansion in certain states.

Medical Set NCCI Affordable Care Act Icon

StockUnlimited

The other side conclusion – 68% of the first 90 days of primary care treatment occurred in the first 10 days of a WC claim. That would be expected, as WC claims age, the likelihood of referrals to specialists away from primary care would increase heavily within the first month. (my conclusion).

I hope this NCCI Affordable Care Act study will be updated periodically.