OK, vacation’s over, and mail box is (almost) cleaned out. So here’s what’s happening this week.
The annual IAIABC conference is underway in Madison Wisconsin. The International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions is the trade group for the people who regulate workers comp in the US, Canada, and several other countries.
Among the sessions is one on the origin of workers comp in the US – which, fortuitously, occurred in the same town. This will be a great opportunity to take a step back and reflect on what WC is all about, how it has evolved, and think about where it needs to go. And how it can get there.
IAIABC Executive Director Greg Krohm has an editorial in yesterday’s Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel on the subject; here’s an excerpt.
Worker’s compensation was developed in an era when organized labor and employers were at each other’s throats. Labor was pushing for higher wages and better working conditions. Management wanted to rid itself of never-ending lawsuits from work accidents. Both sides, despite their heated arguments, came together to compromise and build something that was better for both sides.
This pragmatic spirit of cooperation in worker’s compensation is especially ironic given the supercharged political climate in Wisconsin of late.
I’m on a panel Thursday discussing the issue of addiction in workers comp. The experts are Gary Franklin MD, medical director for Washington state Labor and Industry (their work comp state fund). Gary’s been a driving force behind Washington’s effort to address addiction in work comp. Tom Jan DO will lead off the panel; Tom’s a pain management doc with extensive expertise in addressing addiction in comp on the patient level. He brings a real-world, street-level perspective that adds much needed perspective; often we policy geeks get too ‘intellectual’ about a problem that destroys lives and families.
This is also the week of the Florida Work Comp Conference; one of the largest in the country with a wealth of good information along with lots of ‘entertainment opportunities’. The quality of the show is even able to get people to Orlando in August…
Meanwhile there’s another news item that work comp payers should be watching.
On the economic front, work comp insurers and TPAs are a bit happier these days as employment seems to be reviving somewhat; payrolls were up in 31 states last month and the overall jobs picture brightened. The upper midwest led the charge with Michigan employers adding 23,000 jobs. To put this in context, things have been pretty dark on the employment front lately, so even a bit of light is welcome. We’ll get a bit more perspective soon as there’s a jobs report due out on Thursday that will help indicate if things are in fact improving or if we’re just bumping along…
