Mark Walls

Workers’ compensation navigated the unprecedented waters of a global pandemic and, in response, the onslaught of telehealth.

The fatal work injury rate increased to 3.6 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers for 2021 in the U.S., the highest annual rate since 2016.

Although few seem to have noticed, rising costs on catastrophic workers’ compensation injury claims are creating never-seen-before levels of severity.

While there are certainly more than 20 issues to discuss, here are high-impact matters relating to workers’ comp, healthcare and risk management that need more attention.

High-impact issues relating to workers’ comp, healthcare and risk management need more attention.

If the pandemic has proven the need for anything, it is flexible and hybrid work environments.

OSHA's vaccine mandate leaves employers facing a complex compliance challenge.

Risk management teams face difficulties within the insurance marketplace, emerging risks and business challenges.

Currently, COVID-19 represents about 13% of all workers’ compensation claims.

In the face of rapid change, what are the implications? And what risks should organizations be prepared for?

An organization’s planning and response can minimize losses and, most importantly, keep people safe.

Risk managers and service providers are often challenged to demonstrate the value of centralized purchasing.

As work from home continued, employers became even more aware of the impact of mental health and well-being.

The industry is probably looking at several more years of accident year combined ratios above 100%.

The pandemic introduced several variables that question the validity of actuarial models and benchmarks.

If workers’ comp becomes responsible for common conditions that affect millions every year, it is no longer meeting its designed purpose.

One study found that 50% of those infected were unable to work full-time six months after recovering.

This first article will cover COVID-19 claims data. Part 2 will provide more details on long-term medical effects.

Presumptions for COVID-19 show how the line between workers’ comp and group health continues to blur.

Controversy relating to workers’ comp premium audits existed long before COVID. However, the pandemic made things much worse.

Does COVID open the door for future infectious disease coverage under workers’ comp? Likely, yes.

Every company today is different than it was six months ago. All risk profiles have likely changed.

Expectations for success continue to rise as more businesses reopen with safety as a top priority.

Change management, flexibility and risk management have exposed their critical importance.

Beyond the pandemic, claims teams will need to know how to prioritize medical care for injured workers.

The behavioral health community is adjusting with transitions to telemedicine and other alternatives.

"Presumptions" are changing, state by state, increasing exposure for employers and adding complexity.

Four leading CEOs weigh in on how the pandemic is changing the insurance industry, for good.

Increased demand for telemedicine is leading to a dramatic shift in workers' comp healthcare delivery.

COVID-19 will affect the workers’ compensation industry well beyond claims related to the virus. Fortunately, the industry is in strong shape.

Many reach beyond workers’ comp and healthcare, touching risk management and employee benefits.

Trends over the past few years have been pointing to declining rates in most states, but the retention market is a completely different animal.

Traditional metrics, such as the number of cases per adjuster, may be losing their importance. Metrics should evolve.

Social determinants of health, often considered in major injuries, should be a routine issue in workers' comp.

To get the attention of elected officials at public entities, it is important to discuss what matters to them – cost of risk.

The most severely affected patients are unable to work, have trouble with relationships and have great difficulty parenting their children.

Telemedicine lets injured employees reach a clinician from home or the worksite, providing an alternative that ensures early treatment.

OSHA reports that 2 million incidents occur each year, many of which (non-fatal incidents like bullying or harassment) go unreported.

Training methods must adapt to address the changing nature of the workplace. A blended learning approach is now necessary.

A firm operating only in the U.S. may still have customers, suppliers and traveling employees in another country.

The workers’ comp industry must attract and retain top talent while responding to evolving work cultures.

The intersection of workers’ comp with laws on leave of absence and accommodation has become challenging.

There are very important issues that the workers' comp community should be monitoring as the year begins.

While some technology is noise, it can help especially in claims management and risk control.

With a deeper understanding, organizations can significantly reduce incidents against their workers.

Programs that focus equally on employees' health and productivity are becoming essential for companies.

Large workers' compensation claims are infrequent but are increasing rapidly and can now reach $20 million.

No, despite some advances, workers’ compensation won't see such care any time soon. There are too many regulatory constraints.

Costs for workers’ comp could triple by 2030 with no change in indemnity benefit levels, raising questions about the viability of the system.

Combining workplace data with evolving data analytics and machine learning can improve productivity, safety and fraud rates.

Losses can be less obvious, more complicated and larger than the property claim. Unfortunately, the front-end focus is often wrong.

One of the first employer concerns has to be preventing and responding to employee injuries when a disaster occurs.

Workers' comp protocols need to be turned around, putting psychosocial issues at the front end of the process.

We have not seen a push for workers’ compensation reforms in the last few years, but that will change.

Social mission is a key to attracting new talent. Employees care about getting those workers back to work as soon as possible.

We gathered thoughts from injured workers, whose voices are crucial in workers' comp but are too-seldom heard.

Start by putting the threats on a grid, with one bar being the likelihood of the exposure and the second being the potential severity of the risk.

Mental health has been a taboo topic in workers' comp, but we increasingly see the need to address the topic.

Courts have not ruled that officers must deescalate the situation before using deadly force, but is the public demanding it?

Risk management is ever-changing and evolving in K-12 schools. It is vital to stay on top of emerging issues.

Common-sense tips can lead to better outcomes for injured workers — and, ultimately, lower costs for payers.

What will be the impact of the election? Of machine learning and artificial intelligence? Of constitutional challenges?

"We cannot be overly dependent on what we have done in the past to make decisions about the future."

A study found that a workers' comp audit must be designed to affect not just the actions of the adjuster but all elements of the claims process.

Employers can reduce the duration of disability for behavioral health issues and perhaps see improvement in workers' comp, too.

Some employers post signs banning all guns. But this simple sign can be a recipe for disaster, for many reasons.

The time has come for workers' comp to reflect the realities of the current workforce, workplace risks and advances in science and medicine.

Every workers' comp form filed is an opportunity for a penalty, and there can be thousands of transactions on a single claim.

Employers send a mixed message to employees: Get the best healthcare -- but not if you're injured.

The election year, Obamacare and possible federalization of workers' comp could all hit the industry in 2016.

Some trends are favorable: Medical inflation has decreased, and the use of independent medical reviews has cut costs.

It isn't pretty. California has the highest costs in the U.S., and every time a law is changed the system grows even more complex.

Mental health conditions are increasingly being recognized as risk factors for prolonged work absences, and even for no return to work.

"No fault" isn't no fault. "Exclusive remedy" isn't exclusive. And the century-old "grand bargain" in workers' comp will keep changing.

Physicians say they need to spend more time training their workers' comp peers, need to consider psycho-social issues -- and much more.

Should the workers comp requirement be eliminated for the 75% of employers and occupations with negligible additional risk?

The ProPublica series makes valid points about problems in workers' comp but misses some context and omits many, many positive stories.

Drug prices, under physician dispensing, have come down significantly after reforms but remain much higher than at retail pharmacies.

Among them: Generic drugs will drive prices <i>up</i>; policies on marijuana may have to change; and new healthcare models are emerging.

Likely not much. The workers' compensation marketplace has already adapted to the absence of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.

At the recent IAIABC conference, regulators worried about issues such as workers' compensation benefits for illegal aliens.

Panelists at the California Workers Comp & Risk Conference see potential for a major problem with "presumption claims."

A panel at the California Workers’ Compensation & Risk Conference reports tentative -- but positive -- signs about the SB 863 reform.

A California report finally compared the state with others: It is not a pretty picture.

A simple change would resolve a major conflict concerning bonuses.

While effects will be uncertain until the ACA has been fully implemented, employers can take steps now to lessen any&nbsp;negative impacts&nbsp;and increase the value of the positives.|