today marks the start of the annual Workers Compensation Research Institute in Boston. Um going to put up a couple of lengthy – but still well worth reading in their entirety – posts on today’s presentations later this evening. For now, an initial observation.
Several of this afternoons panelists talked about the future, in the context if trends we should watch for and cost drivers we should be on guard against.
Dr Peter Barth led off the conference with a grey review of the history of work comp in the US. Dr Barth warned that worker comp may be included in any health reform initiative. He also noted that comp was part of the Clinton reform initiative.
With all due respect, for several reasons I very much doubt comp will be directly impacted by or addressed in any health reform bill. First, any politician with half a brain (which I grant may not include everyone in DC) knows that the way to get a bill passed is to get more supporters than detractors. It is going to be difficult at best to pass health reform legislation; adding comp to any bill would not add any support but would almost certainly drive work comp stakeholders to lobby against the bill. There’s just no upside for including comp in health reform.
Second, nowhere do the words ‘workers compensation’ or similar terms appear in President Elect Obama’s website, policy papers on health reform, or in the several speeches he has made on the subject.
Third, comp is not mentioned in the Wyden/Bennett Healthy Americans Act or any of the other reform bills considered in this Congressional session. These may be thought of as drafts of future bills; if policymakers were actively considering incorporating work comp it is likely we’d have seen it appear in one or more of these bills.
What does this mean for you?
Don’t expect to see work comp addresses in reform legislation on the Federal level.
Nov
12
