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MaryRose Reaston is the co founder, CEO and CSO of Emerge Diagnostics, a company created to commercialize the electrodiagnostic functional assessment (EFA). Emerge Diagnostics focuses on better outcomes for Musculoskeletal Disorders via early resolution and enhanced treatment options for soft-tissue injuries.
An Unprecedented Work Comp Ruling
The March 2016 opinion in Negron v. Progressive Casualty Insurance by a federal district court was an unprecedented ruling against Progressive for filing a false or fraudulent claim under the Medicare Secondary Payor Act (MSP) and causing a governmental agency (Medicare) to wrongfully pay for benefits. The decision raises a broad issue for workers’ compensation. […]
Ending Cost-Shifting to Workers’ Comp
An April 2016 study by the Worker’s Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) titled, “Do Higher Fee Schedules Increase the Number of Workers’ Compensation Cases?” found that, in many states, workers’ compensation reimbursement rates were higher than group health reimbursement rates. The study stated that cost shifting is more common with soft tissue injuries, especially in states […]
Baseline Testing Provides a Win
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the incidence of musculoskeletal injuries (MSD) cases for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers increased to 355.4 cases per 10,000 full-time workers in 2014, up from 322.8 in 2013. This is more than three times greater than the rate for all private sector workers. Companies are faced with […]
Obamacare Expands Into Workers’ Comp
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was created to expand healthcare coverage. Unfortunately, the act has overstepped its bounds and will dip into the workers’ compensation coffers by requiring mandatory reporting for Medicaid beneficiaries. Medicaid originated in 1965 to cover low-income people with children who had disabilities. State and federal governments fund Medicaid, with the state […]
Better Approach to Soft Tissue Injury
Musculoskeletal diseases, defined as injuries to the soft tissues, currently affect more than one out of every two persons in the U.S. age 18 and older, and nearly three out of four over the age of 65. Low back pain affects at least 80% of adults at some point, with an estimated annual cost of […]
Obesity as Disease: A Profound Change
The obesity rate in the U.S. has doubled in the past 15 years. More than 50% of the population is overweight, with a BMI (body mass index) between 25 and 30, and 30% have a BMI greater than 30 and are considered obese. Less than 20% of the population is at a healthy weight, with […]
Is Baseline Testing Worth It? (Part 3)
This is the conclusion to the series of articles on whether baseline testing is worth the effort. The first two articles dealt with baseline testing from an employer’s point of view and from an injured worker’s point of view. We believe that those case studies were compelling. This final article will examine the statistics and, we […]
Is Baseline Testing Worth It? (Part 2)
In our first article on this subject, we gave an overview of baseline testing, compared it with a post-offer physical exam, updated recent legal decisions under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) that allow baseline testing and concluded with a legal case highlighting the benefits of a baseline program. While all stakeholders won in the […]
Is Baseline Testing Worth the Effort?
We have written several articles on the topic of baseline testing and demonstrated some substantial results. Today, with more than three years of baseline data, we are still asked the question: Is baseline testing really worth the effort? That’s the question we address in this article. First, some background on baseline testing: Often called a […]
Better Way to Handle Soft-Tissue Injuries
The most costly problem facing employers today is work-related, soft-tissue injuries, more commonly known as work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSD). According to OSHA, WRMSD account for 34% of lost work days in the U.S., as well as a third of the dollars spent in workers’ compensation and of all work-related injury cases. Not surprisingly, soft tissue injuries […]
A Better Way to Diagnose Back Pain
Neck and back disorders account for an estimated one third of all work-related injuries in the private sector. In only about 5% of all cases is back pain associated with serious underlying pathology requiring diagnostic confirmation and directed treatment, yet magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is, controversially, often used for diagnosis. New technology can specifically diagnose muscle-related back […]
Navigating EEOC and Labor Department
Trends in 2013 suggest that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is stepping up litigation, potentially involving large dollars. Recoveries by the EEOC were $39 million in 2013, slightly down from the $44 million recovered in 2012, but 2013 featured some high-profile cases. In 2014, the focus is likely to be on the Americans with Disabilities […]
Better Management of Soft-Tissue Injuries: A Case Study
The Gatesway Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Tulsa, OK, had seen an increase in its work-related musculoskeletal (MSD) cases, which the U.S. Department of Labor and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) define as injuries of the muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments, joints, cartilage and spinal discs. These types of disorders, commonly referred to as soft […]
Myths About Obamacare and Workers’ Comp
The Obama administration has said that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, enacted into law in 2010 and scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, will reduce workers’ comp claims because so many additional people will be covered under personal insurance policies. But there is reason to think otherwise. The first issue is that […]
Workers' Compensation No Longer the Exclusive Remedy: RICO on the Radar, Part 2
Understandably, Part 1 of this article series has been met with some controversy and skepticism. The article is not designed to scare employers, as might have been suggested. Its intention is to educate employers about the many issues facing them when an employee becomes injured, that transcend the State Workers’ Compensation System and a workable […]
Workers' Compensation No Longer The Exclusive Remedy: RICO On The Radar
Workers' Compensation origins can be traced to the late Middle Ages and Renaissance times in the Unholy Trinity of Defenses, the doctrine that first outlined that work-related injuries were compensable. This doctrine began in Europe and made its way to America with the Industrial Revolution. There were so many restrictions with it that changes occurred […]
New AMA Classification Of Obesity: How It Affects Workers’ Compensation And Mandatory Reporting
On June 16, 2013, the American Medical Association voted to declare obesity a disease rather than a comorbidity factor. This change in classification will affect 78 million American Adults and 12 million children. The new status for obesity means that this is now considered a medical condition that requires treatment. In fact, a recent Duke […]
What Do New Workers' Compensation Reforms Sweeping the Country Have in Common?
AOECOE – Not Just Another Acronym California Senate Bill 863 was passed in the fall of 2012 and went into effect on January 1, 2013. Senate Bill 1062 was just signed into law by Governor Mary Fallin of Oklahoma and will take effect January 1, 2014. On April 30, 2013, Tennessee Governor, Bill Haslam, signed […]
Baseline Testing: Book End Solution – Does It Qualify as Business Necessity?
Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 which included the terms “job-related and consistent with business necessity” in Section 703(k) of Title VII as part of a Congressional compromise. The amendment to the act which went into effect in 2008 did not affect the business necessity provision. Case law regarding business necessity is […]
The Healthcare Industry Is Ripe For Baseline Testing
We are very pleased to be able to include the phone interview above. We are able to provide this rich media content through a new, special media partnership with World Risk and Insurance News (WRIN.tv). World Risk and Insurance News is an online video-based insurance news network delivering late-breaking and relevant business-to-business information, analysis and […]
What An Employer Can Do To Reduce Soft Tissue Injuries In The Transportation Industry
The trucking industry accounted for nearly 20 percent of all days-away-from-work cases in 2011. Correspondingly, trucking was among the seven occupations which had an incidence rate greater than 300 cases per 10,000 full-time workers and who had greater than 20,000 days-away-from-work cases. OSHA defines a Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) as an injury of the muscles, nerves, […]
Workers' Compensation In California: No Longer Just Permanent And Stationary
Senate Bill 863 was passed on August 31, 2012 and signed into law by Governor Brown on September 1 for a January 1, 2013 effective date. This bill not only affects the workers’ compensation system in California but also has far reaching effects for employers under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and […]
Don't Get Washed Away By The Medicare Set-Aside
A storm has been brewing since requirements for set asides were established in order to protect Medicare from future medical expenses from work comp and general liability claims. With the mandatory requirement that all work comp and general liability claims be reported in electronic format, CMS has the mechanism to look back and identify if […]
Repetitive Stress Injury Has Become Cumulative Trauma for Employers
According to the medical dictionary, Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI) is defined as an injury that occurs as a result of over or improper use. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly two-thirds of all occupational illnesses reported were caused by exposure to repeated trauma to workers’ upper body (the wrist, elbow or shoulder). […]
Is Your OSHA Program Discriminatory?
Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) represent 28% of all recordable OSHA injuries and account for 33% of the total cost of work-related injuries. Each recordable OSHA musculoskeletcal disorder involving lost time results in an average of 20 or more lost work days, compared to 9 lost work days for all other recordable injury types. Since the enactment […]
