Affordable Care Act Mentions Workers Comp How Many Times?

May 30, 2013 By JL Risk Management Consultants

Affordable Care Act Mentions Workers Comp __ Times?

I am one of the people that actually read the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) just after it was passed by the House. The main reason was to see if Workers Comp was affected or mentioned directly in the Act.

Graphic of Affordable Care Act Obamacare

Wikimedia commons – Careilly5801

The searchable PDF of the act is on the Affordable Care Act page. I had thought there would be more reference to Workers Comp. The term was covered only one time. The following is the excerpt from the Act:

COMPLIANCE WITH CERTAIN LAWS.—A State shall ensure that, regardless of whether the State uses an agency provider model or other models to provide home and community-based attendant services and supports under a State plan amendment under this subsection, such services and supports are provided in accordance with the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and applicable Federal and State laws regarding—
‘‘(A) withholding and payment of Federal and State income and payroll taxes;
‘‘(B) the provision of unemployment and workers compensation insurance;
‘‘(C) maintenance of general liability insurance; and
‘‘(D) occupational health and safety.

Doctor And Patient Affordable Care Act Looking At X Ray

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I had written many times before on the Federalization of Workers Compensation and the Death of Workers Compensation specifically mentioning 24 hour healthcare as a replacement for WC.

The above section may allay some of the fears that Workers Comp personnel may have on the Affordable Care Act. However, I would read the articles that I had written in the past before feeling too comfortable.

I read the passage a few times to try to comprehend how this all fits together. If anyone would like to leave a comment on their interpretation, please feel free to post a comment. Any input would be appreciated.

2018 Update – part of the Act has been repealed. The effect on Workers Comp will not be known for at least two years.

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Workers Comp Reserve Reduction Plan – Is Yours In Place?

March 25, 2011 By JL Risk Management Consultants

Reserve Reduction Plan And The Unistat Date

I wrote last week on the timing and deadline for having your Workers Compensation reserve reduction plan in place. If your company has not begun with the plan, you are throwing away Workers Compensation Dollars.

If your renewal date is January 1, you should by now have obtained your company’s or agency’s Workers Compensation loss runs. If you do not have them, you are already running behind.

Remember, you have until 6/30/11 at 11:59 PM, to reduce your Workers Comp reserves which in turn will reduce your E-Mod. That is your goal – to reduce NEXT YEAR’S E-MOD.

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You should have a list of claims that you wish to discuss with your adjuster on the reserve levels. A caveat – KNOWING WHICH CLAIMS to discuss is critical. Discussing the wrong claims may cost your company more $. Please do not ask an adjuster to reduce all your reserves by 15%. That will never happen and ruin the working relationship you have with your adjuster.

If you do not know who your Workers Comp adjuster is, then you are falling way behind. Your loss run should indicate the person that is handling each claim.

As I have said many times in this blog, if you have online access you are way ahead of the game. Having FULL online access to your claims will save you hours and hours of work on your reserve reduction plan as you can see the status and the reserve levels any time you wish to access them.

The last time I posted on this subject, I received a few questions concerning renewal dates other than 1/1 and the corresponding reserve reduction plan timing. Check out my next post.

If you ever feel you are in over your head or that your carrier is not responding to your request, please contact us. Reserve reductions are part of what we do as a company.

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PEOs for Workers Comp – Are They Worth It? Answer – Most of The Time

February 2, 2011 By JL Risk Management Consultants

PEOs Are Great For Workers Comp But Not Every Time

Workers Comp PEOs (Professional Employment Organizations) have gained a great amount of attention lately. Are they a viable source of Workers Comp coverage for your business?

Picture Of PEOs Professional Employment Organization Standing In A Row

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The unregulated PEO’s of the past caused all state insurance departments to initiate more laws, rules, and regs over the last few years.

I am sure you have seen the news headlines where certain ones were shut down and their owners were sometimes prosecuted for fraud and other crimes. I have seen very few of those articles in the last two years.

Any time you sign a contract for workers comp insurance, make sure you read the document fully. Reading the agreements always makes sense. I have seen many results where the employers sign the documents without reading them.

My last article mentioned the possibility of using a PEO as a possible viable way to avoid going into the risk pool and paying premiums of up to 800% more than the usual Workers Compensation marketplace for coverage.

Before exploring the PEO marketplace, you would need to pause and think about how your company came to be possibly insured by an Assigned Risk Pool insurance carrier. The same considerations that may have landed your company in the risk pool may prevent you from being considered by any of the PEO’s.

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The PEO’s underwriters are going to examine the same information that the carriers have covered in the decision to not underwrite your business. Having your Workers Comp claims loss runs will speed up the process greatly. Find your E-Mod Sheets. They request those every time for the underwriting process.

The best way we have seen to explore the PEO marketplace is with a PEO broker. There are many of them online. Googling the term PEO or PEO broker will bring up hundreds of them. Use this contact form if you have questions.

We have come across a few PEO’s and specialized brokers that have been great to work with over the last few years. As J&L is not an agency nor do we sell any type of coverage. We have no bias as to one company or the other.

One of the questions we receive is how can PEO’s write my business for a lower premium than the Assigned Risk Pool or regular marketplace? I will cover that next time along with a few advantages of using a PEO.

Email or call if you have questions