Happy Friday to all – here’s the non-COVID news of note from the week.
The brilliant minds at WCRI aren’t slacking while WFH (working from home). Their latest is the 20th edition of the CompScope state-specific reports detailing the performance of 18 state workers’ compensation systems. Free to members…
Also, download a free copy of WCRI’s report on medical prices for services paid in 36 states.
NCCI’s annual meeting is still on for May 12; it kicks off virtually at 1 pm eastern. This is a must-attend for all looking for the latest intel on all things workers’ comp.
Good news and helpful stuff
Gotta love the State Fund of California – the Fund is contributing $25 million to each of two programs ($50 million in total):
- one for essential workers who contract COVID-19 or are ordered to self-isolate due to a potential exposure. The fund will provide assistance with wage replacement up to 6 weeks and assist any worker without health coverage with uncovered medical costs.
- the other is for qualified policyholders, it will help defray the costs of safety-related expenses, planned or already incurred, related to protecting their workforces from COVID-19. Get info here – it is first come, first served.
If you are stressed a bit more than usual these days, spend a few minutes with Carisk’s David Vittoria – a wonderfully compassionate speaker – today or early next week by signing up here. (I work with Carisk).
If you’re not entirely comfortable working remote and want to be more effective in those Zoom meetings, here’s some very useful advice. Spoiler alert – we’re all on TV now, and the camera is the key.
For those new to WFH, some useful tips from the Harvard Business Review will help you manage the back-and-forth between work and non-work time; HBR says:
- plan your day
- prioritize what’s most important and stick to the list
- have transition time in the morning to get going, and in the pm to wind down.
If you miss people – I certainly do! – here’s a wonderful piece on how neighbors can connect and stay connected, regardless of how long we’re “apart”.
Finally, JAMA’s allowing free access to a summary of all the drugs currently being evaluated as potential treatment for COVID19. Hat tip to WaPo for the head’s up. [The link is a more readable summary of the JAMA piece.]
Good Friday Morning!
Two comments regarding your latest post. First, the California State Fund isn’t the only one with plans to contribute funds to those impacted by COVID-19. The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation recently announced a $1.6 billion rebate of employer premiums to ease the economic impact of the coronavirus – an amount equal to roughly 100% of premiums paid for policy year 2018. Second, I concur with your assessment of David Vittoria at Carisk. BWC worked with David to host a series of three webinars titled “Calm Amidst the Chaos” for its employees, and I was able to attend the last one yesterday. David acknowledged that he was blown away by the rate of participation (I believe over 800 in total!) and engagement among BWC staff. When he asked about that, one of our staff responded, “We’re BWC – Because We Care!”
Be safe, be well, be blessed!
Good morning Arnold and thanks for the note – and let me add my thanks to BWC for doing the right thing. Governmental entities are far too often criticized if not demonized in times like these, so your information on BWC’s rebate is welcome indeed. I’d note that BWC was on the forefront of the opioid crisis, identifying the issue and publicizing it long before it became widely known.
Glad you and your colleagues were able to tune in to David’s webinar – and thanks to Carisk for making this available to all.
Be well – Joe