What happens when a new state law cuts your reimbursement by one-third? Find out the challenges Illinois occupational health providers are facing after the enactment of a law last year aimed at reforming the state’s workers’ compensation program.
Course 10, held on Tuesday, Oct. 9, at the NAOHP conference in Chicago, is titled Adapting to Reform: The Illinois Challenge.
Discover the challenges faced by Illinois occupational health providers after the enactment of a law reforming the state’s workers’ compensation program. Course 10 at the NAOHP conference in Chicago on Tuesday, Oct. 9, is titled “Adapting to Reform: The Illinois Challenge.”
Providers in Illinois say it is indeed challenging. “The law has had a dramatic impact on occupational health in our state,” said Dr. David Fletcher, medical director of SafeWorks Illinois, a comprehensive occupational health services company and return-to-work program based in Champaign and Chicago, Ill. SafeWorks has seen its reimbursement drop by about one-third since the law went into effect, Dr. Fletcher said. “It’s a dramatic change,” he said.
Signed by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn last spring, the law is intended to cut the cost of insurance and treatment of injured workers in the state by $500 million. Today, Illinois businesses spend $3 billion a year to insure and treat injured workers. “The legislation will achieve significant saving for the state of Illinois, as well as attacking fraud and abuse,” Gov. Quinn said in a statement. “We have fundamentally changed our system, allowing Illinois to become more competitive and a better place to do business.”
The law slashed reimbursement rates to physicians and hospitals treating injured workers, and set rules for determining the scope of an injury. Additionally, it gave employers more control over where workers can receive treatment. Most changes took place in September 2011. The National Council on Compensation Insurance estimates that the changes will lower insurance premiums by 8.8 percent.
The law also puts a cap on disability payments for carpal tunnel syndrome, which could save employers $19 million a year, according to the governor’s office. It also denies injury claims due to drunkenness. The law also institutes more requirements on impartiality of arbitration and ethical standards, Dr. Fletcher said.
The NAOHP course will bring together Illinois occupational health leaders, employers, attorneys, and representatives from the state medical society to explain the law, its fallout, and how to adapt to these fundamental changes. Dr. Fletcher said the program is relevant for providers in other states. “All states are constantly trying to tighten the reins on workers’ compensation,” he said. “Illinois was under a lot of pressure because the economy is so bad. A prison scandal involving workers’ compensation was also a factor in the state seeking to get control of billing. It’s a big political issue.”
Some providers have had to cut staff and programs as a result of lower reimbursement. But others have found new opportunities through the legislation, which will be discussed at Course 10. “I’ve had to become very creative,” Dr. Fletcher said.
Speakers for Course 10: Adapting to Reform: The Illinois Challenge
- Mitch Weisz
- Position: Illinois Workers Compensation Commission
- Dr. David Fletcher
- Position: Medical Director of SafeWorks Illinois
- Dr. George Pappas
- Position: President and CEO of Tyler Medical Services
- Dr. Charles Bush Joseph
- Position: Professor, Rush University Medical Center; Surgeon at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush
- Dr. Richard Kube
- Position: Surgeon at Prairie Spine and Pain Institute
- Robert Maciorowski
- Position: Partner, Maciorowski, Sackmann & Ulrich
- Patrick Gallagher
- Position: Illinois State Medical Society
