WCRI 2022 Conference Morning Day 2 – Great Speakers

With COVID-19 cases bottoming out across the country, attention is turning to Long Covid and how to prepare for the next variant. As a physician, epidemiologist, author, and dean of the Boston University School of Public Health, our keynote speaker on day two, Dr. Sandro Galea, is uniquely qualified to answer these questions and more.

Short- and Long-Term Consequences of COVID-19

Dr. Galea has been named one of Time magazine’s epidemiology innovators and has been listed as one of the “World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds.” He has published 18 books and over 850 peer-review journal articles. His most recent book, The Contagion Next Time, offers a four-part treatise on what it will take to prevent the next global health catastrophe. In his keynote address, he will discuss the short- and long-term consequences of COVID-19 while addressing the following questions:

• What are the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 and Long Covid?
• Of those who contracted COVID-19, how many will develop long-term symptoms?
• What are the symptoms and treatment for Long Covid and how can employers support those who have it?
• Can we expect another variant and, if so, when and how can we prepare?

MERS, SARS, and Ebola infections had much higher death rates

• MERS – 30%
• SARS – 20%
• Ebola – 40%

Greater than 95% of People Aged 65 and Up have been vaccinated

Boosters – not that large % received boosters

Inverse care law – the populations that needed the vaccine the most had the least, same with healthcare

COVID 19 ranked 3rd behind heart disease and cancer as the cause of deaths in 2020-2021

First time to incur life expectancy drop since World War II

Question – Herd Immunity – 95% herd immunity due to vaccines and exposure to COVID

Positives from COVID

1. Realization of underlying health – comorbidities, etc.
2. Better communications and not fracturing
3. Public health was not prepared for pandemics
4. Non-partisan solutions

State of the States: Selected Findings

WCRI 2022 Conference Morning Day 2

WCRI Senior Public Policy Analyst Dr. Rebecca Yang will look at how the pandemic impacted income benefits across various workers’ compensation systems for non-COVID-19 claims, using preliminary findings from CompScope™ Benchmarks, 22nd Edition. The following are among the questions her presentation will address:

• How did indemnity benefits per claim change across states for non-COVID-19 claims in 2020 with experience through March 2021?
• What did the trends in duration of temporary disability benefits and wages for workers with injuries imply about the impact of the early COVID-19 pandemic period on the workers’ compensation systems?

WCRI Policy Analyst William Monnin-Browder will discuss key performance measures in the New York system in light of recent legislative and administrative changes, including the 2019 medical fee schedule change. The following are among the questions his presentation will address:

• How did prices paid for professional medical services change after the Official New York Workers’ Compensation Medical Fee Schedule was changed in 2019?
• Has the time from injury to first indemnity payment changed following the New York State Board of Workers’ Compensation’s Payor Compliance Project?

Changes in Economic Conditions & Availability of Medical Care

• Changes in Labor supply/demand
• Delays in seeking medical care
• Not reporting minor injuries
• Not seeking medical care for minor Workers Comp injuries

Claims with TTD likely increased due to a drop in medical-only claims  that made the proportion of TTD claims to the total number of claims increase

All industries incurred a 6% increase in the TTD duration during 2020 and 2021

State of the Workers’ Compensation System – 50 years after Nixon Study

Two articles appear on this website concerning the 1972 Nixon Administration Study – they are:

Nixon Administration Study

What would The WC Landscape Look Like If WC Was Federalized

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the report by the National Commission on State Workers’ Compensation Laws. Join our distinguished panel as they discuss where we are today, 50 years later. The following are some potential questions our panel will address:

• To what extent were the recommendations in the report addressed, particularly the ones deemed essential? Has the landscape changed since 1972 to make some of those recommendations impractical or obsolete?
• Speaking in terms of the “grand bargain,” how is today’s system both succeeding (providing for) and failing employees and employers?
• One measure of how well a system is functioning is how well it handles a major disruption. How has the system handled the COVID -19 pandemic so far?
• The two main components of the delivery of benefits to workers in the workers’ compensation system are the provision of wage replacement benefits and the delivery of medical care. If a commission were convened today, what would be deemed an essential recommendation in each of those categories?

Permanent Partial Disability – great discrepancies among the states according to John Burton

The Nixon Commission failed to address Temporary Partial Disability benefits TPD – Alan Pierce

Massachusetts had heavily reduced workers comp benefits in the 1980s. – Alan Pierce

19 recommendations made by Nixon Administration – Bruce Wood

An existential crisis in workers comp – 1990s – Bruce Wood

State legislatures failed to deal with Permanent Partial disability – Bruce Wood

Nixon commission recommended no limits on TTD – Bruce Wood

Short window of time to work with – troubled by the fact that there was a short study period, no follow up, no studies, no university endowments to procure studies – Judge Langham

State legislatures do not work in balance, more of a pendulum between employee protections and employer protections. – Judge Langham

Only the larger employers are listened to by state legislatures – Judge Langham

Role of Federal Government in Workers Comp – should be a continual process – minimum standards bill not the answer – Alan Pierce

Federal administration of WC is not the answer – Judge Langham

Would Workers Comp look like SSDI – inefficient – Bruce Wood

The representation of the general public and small businesses were not included in the 1972 commission.  No minorities, only one woman, no small businesspeople – Judge Langham

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