Okay, now to a few last words.
As one more interested in workers comp than other topics, I found the agenda to be pretty thin. With a couple exceptions (CMS and reform), the topics weren’t timely, the subjects pretty basic, and the number of sessions devoted to comp few in number. The session re the impact of health reform on comp was led by Liberty’s Sam Geraci; his presentation provided an excellent brief on the mechanics and functions of health reform and paid particular attention to the potential issues with access to medical providers inherent in providing coverage to 32 million more Americans.
I would have liked to see several issues addressed: market trends (hard, soft, or what); what’s happening with comp reform in key states; actuarial views of cost drivers (can you spell o-p-i-o-i-d-s?); state of the excess/reinsurance market; frequency v severity, what’s happening and why; will the option to opt-out spread beyond Texas and perhaps Oklahoma and why. Perhaps next year…
With attendance up, a seemingly-endless list of exhibitors, dozens of social events (several at great venues), and the location in downtown Philly, there was plenty to do. While I may be biased, the MedRisk event at the WaterWorks was spectacular. 400+ people, terrific band, tasty food, fireworks, great views of Boathouse Row, an after-party replete with scotch tasting and excellent cigars, and – to cap it all off, I got to ride back to the hotel with Mark Farrell and…(wait for it)…David Young, President of Coventry Workers Comp. And lived to blog the tale.
So far…

Quick takes
Weather
If exhibitor presence is an indicator of where the world is headed, the insurance world is very concerned about catastrophes.
Several of those huge cat cleanup vehicles were on the exhibit floor at this year’s RIMS conference, along with a couple dozen other companies marketing various cat-related services. Cleanups, weather tracking, hurricane-proof domes, salvage sales, pretty much anything from warning about impending disasters to selling what’s left after the event was on display.
Given the latest news on the impact of storms and natural disasters on the P&C industry’s financials, the decision by these service firms to exhibit at RIMS looks prescient. Chad Hemenway reported yesterday the industry’s 2011 rate of return was a paltry 3.5%, largely due to weather-related claims which increased almost $20 billion from the previous year.
Medical management
There were fewer managed care/medical management firms exhibiting than I expected, perhaps because RIMS attracts a lot of attendees outside their target market. The dearth of sessions on medical management, or, for the most part, the thin workers comp agenda likely played a part as well.
Execs from the non-exhibitors all were there to take advantage of the “target rich environment”; many of their current customers and future prospects were in attendance, and the opportunity to meet makes RIMS a must-do.
New news
Spoke with TriStar CEO Tom Veale yesterday about their acquisition of TPA REM. The combined company greatly extends TriStar’s reach, enabling it to compete for national business (previously TriStar’s reach was limited to the western part of the country). The new company, which is now in the top five among WC TPAs, has revenues of about $100 – $110 million, 400 clients, and almost 900 employees. So far, customers seem fine with the deal, as they should be. The growth of TriStar adds another national TPA to the list, raising the competitive bar and offering employers more choices.
There’s a lot more to this I’ll be covering later.
InsurCard is gaining traction. The company’s debit card solution allows claims payers to fill a debit card with indemnity payments for claimants. They also have ties to about a quarter million health care providers that allows InsurCard’s customers to pay their medical bills with a faxed debit card – HIPPA compliant, no fee to the payer, and secure. Makes a lot of sense – outsource payments and reduce admin expense.
More to come later today.

Attendance must be up – significantly. Can’t get a hotel room anywhere in town, restaurants are booked solid, lobby bar – and most others around the convention center – are SRO (standing room only), and there’s pretty good traffic in the exhibit hall to boot.
The Safety National event at the Ritz was jammed; this has become a must-do for many. Word from SN is they’ve expanded their share in the work comp excess market – they own about a third of the market and are looking to consolidate their position. Part of their growth is likely due to Chartis’ decision to exit the excess work comp market; sources indicate that move was driven in large part by the impact of opioids on duration and medical expense.
Spoke with the folks from Cypress Care at length yesterday about their soon-to-be-released drug trends report. They are taking a pretty interesting approach this year; Jim Andrews decided to split out newer claims from those more than three years old. There are quite a few differences between the groups; here’s two:
o Based on the differences in drug mix and utilization, the price per day per claimant for opioids is double in mature claims when compared to emerging claims ($9.79 compared to $4.28)
o The good news is that the number of claimants utilizing Opioids in emerging claims actually decreased almost 2% from the prior year.
More to come on their report later; Express Scripts is releasing their’s today and I’ll be reporting on that as well.
The first annual meeting of the Friends of Sandy Blunt was well-attended; thanks to Bob Wilson for setting things up, and John Swan of CompPartners for footing the bill.
Finally, I heard bill review firm Medata has had a couple of significant wins recently; tried to pry details out of Cy King but he wouldn’t come clean. Will see what I can learn from other sources today.
Still looking for the new new thing; will have more time on the exhibit floor this pm and will report back later today.