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Things you should know


Most COVID presumptions expiring

Fewer than half of the 18 states that enacted legislation or saw executive orders related to COVID presumptions still have the provisions in place, according to a report released by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). Recently, five states proposed legislation to create workers compensation presumptions that could be applicable beyond the current COVID-19 pandemic and include terms such as "infectious disease." The bills failed in Missouri and Florida, but are pending in California, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.



Federal court rules WARN Act does not apply to pandemic

In Scott Easom; Adrian Howard; John Nau v. US Well Services Inc., the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled the COVID-19 pandemic is not a natural disaster that exempts employers from complying with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (WARN), the 1989 law that requires companies to give affected employees 60 days' notice of a plant closing or mass layoff.



Study examines impact of COVID-19 on overdose deaths

A study from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS University) looked to determine whether workers in certain occupations had drug overdose death rates that increased in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020) when compared to the average mortality rates of drug overdoses in the prior three years (2017-2019). The authors found that there was a significant increase in drug overdose mortality rates for workers in three occupational groups - food preparation and serving, healthcare support, and transportation and material moving.



Use of telehealth changing

A new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) reported the use of telemedicine services that increased substantially in the second quarter of 2020 was already decreasing by the third quarter and has stabilized in subsequent quarters. Telemedicine's share of evaluation and management services was still higher at three percent in the first quarter of 2021 as compared with 0.2 percent pre-pandemic. At the same time, the use of telemedicine for physical medicine moved closer to the pre-pandemic level. Prices paid for both services were similar to those for in-person services in the vast majority of states in 2020 and 2021.

Another study by McKinsey found a significant difference in the views of patients and physicians about telehealth. Only 32 percent of physicians believed that it could improve the patient experience and most find it less convenient than patients.



Payments for opioids declining, dermatological agents rising

Payments for dermatological agents continue to increase while payments for opioids continue to decline, according to a WCRI report. The increase in payments is driven by the dispensing of higher-priced products from doctors' offices and mail-order pharmacies. There are substantial interstate variations in per-claim payments for dermatological agents that ranged from $10 per claim in Minnesota to $312 per claim in Pennsylvania. Payment shares for this drug group increased by at least 10 percentage points in seven states.



Annual truck and bus brake inspection blitz set for Aug. 21-27

Commercial motor vehicle inspectors throughout North America will conduct announced and unannounced brake system inspections Aug. 21-27 during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's annual Brake Safety Week.



Staph infection presumptions

Illinois lawmakers passed legislation making staph infections a compensable, occupational illness in 2021, and New York is considering similar measures this year. Bacteria methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, staph infections are common in health care settings, where they are compensable under workers compensation law in many states. But the presumptions look to protect first responders and follow presumption laws for COVID-19 workplace infections as well as mental injury, heart disease, respiratory illness, and cancer.



Hospital outpatient payments much higher in states with no fee schedules

Hospital outpatient payments were higher and growing faster in states with percent-of-charge-based fee regulations or no fee schedules, according to a study by WCRI. According to the study, hospital payments per surgical episode in states with percent-of-charge-based fee regulations were 69 percent to 217 percent higher than the median of the study states with fixed-amount fee schedules in 2020. In states with no fee schedules, they were 61 percent to 134 percent higher.



National Safety Council launches MSD Pledge

In a push to reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders, the National Safety Council (NSC) is calling on employers across all industries to sign a pledge to improve workplace safety, reduce MSD risk and enhance worker well-being. Launched June 2, the MSD Pledge, is free and open to any employer committed to identifying and reducing risks of MSD injuries and creating a culture of safety at work.



2019 CDC Life Table for WCMSAs now in use

On June 4, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began using the new 2019 CDC Life Table to calculate adjusted life expectancies in Workers' Compensation Medicare Set-Asides (WCMSAs). The WCMSA Reference Guide version 3.7 is now available.



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