Things you should know

US military offering targeted mental health care

The Defense Health Agency conducted a targeted-care pilot program at 10 military behavioral health clinics from April to October 2023. Results from the pilot found that about 40 percent of individuals who contacted outpatient behavioral health clinics at the pilot sites did not require medical intervention or have a diagnosable mental health condition; however, they would benefit from other mental health services.

Targeted care begins with a screening assessment, after which service members are matched to the most appropriate means of care. The previous practice of referring service members to behavioral health specialists for "any type of distress" often triggered long wait times for both health assessments and treatment. Targeted care is expected to be available in all military hospitals and clinics by next year.

New heat management resources

• The AIHA Heat Stress application is a mobile app (iPhone and Android) developed through a partnership by AIHA and East Carolina University intended for use in preventing heat-related illnesses through recommended health measures for two specific user types - outdoor workers and managers of outdoor workers.
• NSC Work to Zero new report, Best Practices and the Use of Vital Signs Monitoring for Heat Stress Mitigation explores the impacts of excessive heat stress on worker health and productivity and provides an overview of strategies for managing occupational heat stress.
• Pinnacol Assurance, Colorado's largest workers comp insurer, reports claims data shows that workers from various occupations, not just outdoor workers, are 52 percent more at risk for injury when temperatures exceed 90 degrees. The most common injuries experienced in excessive heat include strains, cuts, falls, and injuries the carrier classifies as "strikes."

Updated Workers' Compensation Medicare Set Aside (WCMSA)

The Self-Administration Toolkit for WCMSAs version 1.6 is now available in the Download section of the WCMSA Self-Administration. The WCMSA Reference Guide version 4.1 is now available in the Download section of the Workers' Compensation Medicare Set Aside Arrangements page.

New resource offers ways to support transit workers' mental health

Researchers from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine's Transit Cooperative Research Program determined that a wide variety of experiences, including crashes, suicides, and homicides, challenge transit workers' mental health. Those challenges lead to post-traumatic stress disorder for 30 percent of transit operators, along with higher risk of anxiety and major depressive disorders. The free report offers solutions that transit agencies can implement.

EPA actions

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an emergency order to discontinue the use of the weed-control pesticide dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate effective immediately.
• Updated the standard that outlines the criteria cleaning products must meet to earn the "Safer Choice" label. Changes to the standard, published August 8 and effective immediately, include the development of a certification program for cleaning services that use Safer Choice- and Design for the Environment-certified products.

Topical drugs rise in costs and utilization

Enlyte recently released the fourth portion of its Pharmacy Solutions Drug Trends Series Report, which analyzes pharmacy trends in workers comp. The workers compensation services company found that topical medications, mostly pain-relieving creams, accounted for 7.2 percent of claims utilization but 18 percent of costs, and specialty drugs accounted for 1.5 percent of utilization but 11.2 percent of drug costs. The number of injured workers using topical medications rose from 3.7 percent to 17.3 percent in 2023.

NTSB investigation of Ohio train derailment leads to 34 recommendations

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued a series of recommendations to several entities in a new report on the February 3, 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, OH.

State News

California

• The Division of Workers' Compensation posted a document to help providers write consistent and accurate medical-legal reports. The Medica-Legal Quality Assurance Checklist includes a template that spans 15 pages and has bullet points identifying information that needs to be included in reports.
• The Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) released its Quarterly Experience Report noting declining claim frequency and increasing wage levels have offset rising medical costs and increases in indemnity benefits, resulting in decreases in average charged rates.
• Average income-replacement payments for injured workers increased 8.9 percent from 2012 to 2016 and soared 17.3 percent from 2016 to 2020 before leveling off in 2021, according to research from the Workers' Compensation Institute on trends in average benefit payments.

Illinois

• SB 2979 amending the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) provides relief from BIPA massive damage awards. A separate claim no longer accrues each time a private business scans or discloses an individual's biometric information or identifier without prior written consent, but instead accrues on a more conservative one-claim-per-person standard.
• HB 5561 signed August 9 and set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2025, strengthens current protections under the Illinois Whistleblower Act. It also codifies the authority of the Workplace Rights Bureau to investigate and hold accountable employers who retaliate or threaten to retaliate against employees.
• New AI regulations under HB 3773 take effect on January 1, 2026 and increase employer responsibilities in recruitment, hiring, promotion, or other employment-related decisions.
• Amendments to the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act revise equal pay and benefits standards, create more notice and paperwork obligations, and clarify staffing worker rights during labor disputes. More information

Massachusetts

• The Department of Industrial Accidents announced that employers must use and display a revised employee notice poster, starting September 16.
• The Governor signed salary range transparency legislation that imposes new salary disclosure requirements on employers. Employers with more than 25 employees must meet the new salary disclosure requirements effective July 31, 2025. Employers with 100 or more employees must submit their first round of EEO and pay data by February 1, 2025.

Virginia

• The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) submitted a rate filing recommending that the State Corporation Commission reduce loss costs by 12 percent, effective April 1, 2025. The filing also recommends a 15.8 percent decrease in assigned risk market rates.

Wisconsin

• The Department of Workforce Development announced a 10.5 percent average decrease in workers compensation insurance rates beginning in October. Individual employer rates will vary based on factors including injury risk exposure.