Case Manager Appreciation Week – Kudos To A Much-Needed Profession
If one reads the Workers Comp posts on LinkedIn, the Case Manager Appreciation Week occurred this week. The case managers deserved more than a day of appreciation. Many years ago, the claims adjusters were the case managers over the phone.
Even longer ago, the outside or field claims adjusters were the case manager and investigator at the same time. It was not a conflict, but adjusting and investigating the claim while making sure the claimants/injured workers were receiving the proper benefits was a very tough job.
One carrier that I had worked as a claims consultant still today does not use Rehab Nurses or Case Managers. The claims adjusters have small caseloads but hire no case managers.
Now, in the post-pandemic era, a large number of claims adjusters work out of their homes. I talked with three different marketers for three case management companies this week – three common comments that make case manager appreciation week applicable were:
- Demand for experienced field case managers is high. Much training is required for beginning case managers.
- Case managers with a nursing background are high in demand. I usually refer to case managers as Rehab Nurses – old school version of the same job.
- TPAs and insurance carriers now use case managers more than pre-pandemic. Adjusters may be working on claims in a different region. Some of them are from outside of the country.
- It is a tough job that pays well.
I said only three comments. I added the fourth one as my input to the Case Manager Appreciation Week. No matter how much the marketer/account manager may be able to sell their company’s services, the Rehab Nurses who cover the files are the most important
The third of the three marketing concepts – Price, Placement, and Product still today makes the adjuster use that service over and over again.
I did receive some feedback when I said that case managers were a great Risk Management technique – mainly how can I call a person a technique.? -clarification – the use of Case Managers is the technique.
Check out the last link for 16 1/2 suggestions on using case managers. Many article appear on this website that encourages the use of rehab nurses. Check out this website search to see a list of the articles.
Kudos to Case Manager Appreciation everywhere – enjoy your week. You deserve it.
