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INSURANCE MATTERS
 
A Newsletter for Members of the CCAP Insurance Programs
Owned by Members, Governed by Members, Service to Members
 
September 2010
Specialty Lines
 
Hello ,

Thirty years ago the CCAP Board of Directors took action on a proposal to start a new member service, an Unemployment Compensation Trust. It would be the first group insurance program designed and operated by CCAP and created solely for the members of CCAP.

Only one current CCAP member was part of the association when this decision was made: Fiore Leon, Erie County Council Member. Fiore was a member of the CCAP Board at the time. Neither he or any of the other county officials and CCAP staff who came up with this idea and who took action to make the Trust happen knew for sure if it would work, and I imagine they did not think about whether or not the Trust would still be in place thirty years later! I am sure their intent was to start something that would help CCAP members to better run their counties, to save money, and to provide a stable budget item.

What happened over the next 30 years was unquestionably a financial success. Over its 30 years of operation the CCAP UC Trust's members paid an estimated $90 million for coverage and services. Had the members remained in the state system for UC insurance, they would have paid about $252 million for coverage. That is a savings of $162 million! In addition, the Trust returned more than $18 million to the members in credits and dividends, bringing the total savings to approximately $180 million!

In addition to the financial savings, the Trust has also provided claims services, training, and a highly rated Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to its members.

Right now the Trust is seeing what is probably the highest level of claims activity in its history, no surprise given the budget climate and the state of the economy. The good news is the UC Trustees have been making prudent decisions and building surplus to handle unexpected events. This has allowed the Trust to mitigate the impact of high claims on the members, spreading the rate increases needed to pay the increased claims costs over several years.

A special annual report celebrating the Trust's 30 year anniversary will be sent to all counties in October. It will contain the Trust's audited financials, which show the Trust to be in strong financial shape.

The Trust also celebrated its anniversary by sponsoring the Keynote Speaker for the 2010 CCAP Annual Conference, Martha Raddatz of ABC news.

Perhaps the strongest statement about the value of the CCAP UC Trust is the support shown by Pennsylvania's counties. Trust membership is currently 43 counties and still growing. Of those 43 counties, 40 have been members for the entire 30 years of the Trust's operations!

Make sure you call us when you need help with something,
   
 
                              John Sallade
 
In This Issue
Speciality Lines
COMCARE accepting nominations
New health insurance program
Occupational Safety Conference
Training opportunities
COMCARE sponsors seminar
Mifflin Co. prison achieves award
Reporting accidents
Quote of the month

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COMCARE accepting nominations
By Christie Ward, Captive Programs Manager

COMCARE will hold the 11th Annual Delegate's Meeting on Tuesday, November 23, following the end of the CCAP Fall Conference.

COMCARE members and delegates will receive an e-mailed invitation to the meeting as well as forms to submit nominations for the 2011 COMCARE Board of Directors. The two At Large seats are currently up for re-election. COMCARE members are the counties of Pennsylvania and no one member can have more than one representative on the board.
 

The current COMCARE Board of Directors:

APPOINTED MEMBERS

CCAP Members

Donna Gority, Chair

Blair County Commissioner

Jeff Wheeland

Lycoming County Commissioner

Darla Bortz

Sullivan County Commissioner

PACDAA Member

Rick Kastner, Secretary / Treasurer

Executive Director, Lancaster Co. D&A Commission

MH/MR PAAP

Phil Keating

Member

Administrator, CMSU MH/MR

ELECTED MEMBERS

Commissioner/Council

George Hartwick

Members

Dauphin County Commissioner

Joe Giles

Erie County Council Member

Managed Care Expert

Scott Suhring

CEO, CABHC

At Large Members

Jonna DiStefano

Behavioral Health Administrator, Delaware County

Jim Kuemmerle

Administrator, Armstrong Indiana MH/MR

Board nominations must be received by October 4. Registrations to attend the delegate's meeting must be received by November 1. For more information on the meeting or the nomination and election process, e-mail Christie Ward or call (800) 895-9039.

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New statewide health insurance program for pennsylvania counties
By Julia Jackson, CCAP Employee Benefits Program Manager

In response to member requests for assistance with health insurance, the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP), in cooperation with local health insurers, has developed a program flexible enough to fit the needs of every county.

The CCAP Health Alliance is part of a growing national movement by state associations to establish insurance programs that provide members with more stable pricing, equitable underwriting, and programs tailor-made for local government employees.

The CCAP Health Alliance is your organization. It is a not-for-profit entity, and the governing board is made up of county government officials and human resource professionals like you.

BENEFIT OPTIONS FOR BUDGET STABILITY

The CCAP Health Alliance offers multiple benefit programs to fit every budget, with an emphasis on wellness and benefit utilization. Counties are able to design their own plan - including level and type of benefits, deductibles, and managed care options - based on programs offered in their area by a local insurer.

At CCAP, we are in the business of keeping counties healthy and making counties stronger. That is why we are creating the CCAP Health Alliance. It is more than employee health benefits - it is a health care purchasing program designed to deliver the very best in health care. Unlike other insurance plans, this is a program of CCAP - your association - and it is managed by CCAP members.

Partnering with local health insurers, the CCAP Health Alliance provides employee access to excellent health care all across Pennsylvania. This alliance offers financially sound coverage that is uniquely suited to county government's needs.

HOW CAN THE CCAP HEALTH ALLIANCE SAVE MY COUNTY MONEY?

The CCAP Health Alliance seeks to provide savings in all the components of health insurance costs. The joint purchasing power of counties statewide helps to lower administrative and risk charges. CCAP will manage the program to provide services at a lower cost than traditional insurance programs.

These are important savings. But the greatest savings will come from plan designs that include wellness and cost-effective, high quality networks of doctors and other health care providers.

COVERAGE OPTIONS
 
The CCAP Health Alliance will offer a wide variety of high quality cost-effective benefit programs for all counties in Pennsylvania. Both fully insured and self funded financing arrangements will be available.

Types of plans available include:
  • Health Insurance

  • Dental Insurance

  • Life Insurance

  • Wellness Programs

  • Vision Insurance

  • Disability Insurance
 
WHEN CAN COUNTIES JOIN?

The CCAP Health Alliance will be available in early 2011.

MAKING COUNTIES STRONGER

CCAP members represent a strong voice in the health care market. This benefits all participating counties by consistently providing:

  • Stability through strength in numbers in an unpredictable market

  • More purchasing power means bigger savings for participating counties

  • Pooled resources and CCAP staff that work to your advantage when the going gets tough

  • The most consistent long-term value in health care costs 
For more information on how your county can benefit from the CCAP Health Alliance, contact Julia Jackson, CCAP Employee Benefits Program Manager, at (800) 895-9039.

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Governor's Occupational Safety and Health Conference
By John Sallade, Managing Director, CCAP Insurance Programs 
 
Pennsylvania's 84th Governor's Occupational Safety and Health (GOSH) Conference will be held Oct. 18-19, 2010, at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center in Hershey, Pa. This is one of the largest annual health and safety conferences on the East Coast, offering a forum to discuss the importance of workplace safety and recognizing winners of the Governor's Award for Safety Excellence. For more information and to register, please visit www.pasafetyconference.org.

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Training opportunities... register now!

By Linda Rosito, Insurance Training Director

 

With September comes the beginning of the fall workshop season sponsored by the County Commissioners Associations of Pennsylvania Insurance Programs. We have a total of 23 workshop opportunities this fall.

 

We hope you will take advantage of these excellent workshop opportunities. Please remember if your county is a member of the sponsoring insurance program the workshop is FREE to attend. And lunch is included!

 

UPCOMING WORKSHOP OPPORTUNITIES:

      Wednesday, September 1 - Defensive Driving Workshop, Best Western/Country

       Cupboard, Lewisburg
 

      Wednesday, September 1 - Excellent Supervisor Seminar, Regional Learning Alliance,

       Cranberry Twp.
 

      Wednesday, September 14 - Defensive Driving Course, Scranton Hilton, Scranton

 

      Thursday, September 15 - Excellent Supervisor Seminar, Scranton Hilton, Scranton

 

      Tuesday, September 21 - KEYS: Powerful Communication: Effective Strategies for

       Success at Work and Home, Regional Learning Alliance, Cranberry Twp.
 

      Wednesday, September 22- Excellent Supervisor Seminar, The Penn Stater

       Conference Center Hotel, State College
 

      Wednesday, September 23 - KEYS: Legal Update: What's Been Happening While

       You've Been Busy Running the County, CCAP North Office, Harrisburg 
 

      Tuesday, September 28, Employees First, Customers Second. Customer Service

       Strategies for Difficult Times, Hampton Inn, Greensburg
 

      Wednesday, September 29, Employees First, Customers Second. Customer Service

       Strategies for Difficult Times, The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, State College
 

      Thursday, September 30, Defensive Driving Workshop, The Penn Stater Conference

       Center Hotel, State College
 

      Monday, October 4, PELICAN Training at the PACAH Conference, Eden Resort,

       Lancaster
 

      October 5, KEYS: Powerful Communication: Effective Strategies for Success at Work

       and Home,Scranton Hilton, Scranton
 

      Tuesday, October 5, KEYS: Legal Update: What's Been Happening While You've Been

       Busy Running the County, Regional Learning Alliance, Cranberry Twp.
 

      Thursday, October 7, Employees First, Customers Second. Customer Service

       Strategies for Difficult Times, Best Western/Country Cupboard, Lewisburg

 

For more information on these workshops and the rest of the fall workshop season, please refer to Glimpse Online.

 

You should have already received your copy of the fall Glimpse. If you have not received a copy and would like one or would like additional copies let us know!

 

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact Linda Rosito or Jenn James at (800) 895-9039.

 

We hope to see you this fall!

 


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COMCARE sponsors open minds seminar on organizational performance
By Christie Ward, Captive Programs Manager
 
COMCARE members are invited to attend a free seminar September 10, presented by Dr. John Talbot with Open Minds.

The seminar, titled Using Metrics to Manage and Improve Organizational Performance, is sponsored by the County Managed Care Resource (COMCARE) and is offered free of charge to COMCARE member counties only.  The seminar will include:
  • Overview of the state of performance measurement in the behavioral health and social service field - performance measures for mental health, addictions, child welfare, and intellectual disability service systems

  • The range of pay-for-performance Models used in the United States - examples of P4P systems and how they have affected system performance

  • Best practice in performance measurement and management: a case study

  • Moving your organization toward metrics based management

  • Optimizing billing, collections, and staff productivity with a full team approach: a case study
Space is limited. Registrations must be made in advance. On site registrations will not be accepted. Lunch and breaks will be provided at no cost. For information on how to register for the seminar or to confirm your COMCARE membership, e-mail Christie Ward or call (800) 895-9039.
 
Mifflin County prison achieves compliance award
By John Sallade, Managing Director, CCAP Insurance Programs

The Mifflin County Commissioners recently recognized the Mifflin County Correctional Facility for 100 percent compliance with Pennsylvania Department of Corrections regulations and guidelines. The compliance award, given out every two years, was the sixth consecutive time the prison was so honored.

Warden Bernie Zook thanked the commissioners for their support over the years. He explained "There's a lot involved with these inspections. They take a hard look at policies and procedures and how things are run." He acknowledged the staff members who work as a team to make sure things are run the way they're supposed to. Commissioner Otis Riden, who also serves as chairman of the Mifflin County Prison Board, commended the prison staff, noting "six inspections in a row is very impressive."

Congratulations to Warden Zook and the prison staff!

NOTE: Information for this article was taken from an article by Joe Cannon in the Lewistown Sentinel.
 
Reporting employee accidents and conducting
incident investigations
By Bob Lauzonis, Loss Control Specialist
 
INTRODUCTION
Counties and county related entities have an obligation to identify workplace hazards and develop controls designed to eliminate or protect employees from those hazards. Investigating incidents of near accidents and investigating actual employee injuries are important techniques used to meet this obligation.
 
INCIDENT AND ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION
For the purpose of this article, we will define accidents as incidents that have resulted in injuries or illness to employees. Incidents are defined as accidents, but also include "near misses" and events that expose employees or others to hazards which could cause injury or illness. Examples of incidents that have not resulted in accidents will be discussed later. The principles of investigation are the same for both so we'll focus on accident investigations as we review these principles.
 
WHY DO WE INVESTIGATE ACCIDENTS?
Experience is the best teacher. We can expect that an accident that has occurred once can occur again, particularly if the underlying causes have not been corrected. An effective investigation will uncover the root cause of the accident, develop actions designed to prevent a similar occurrence, implement the actions, and finally, follow up the implementation to ensure that the actions taken are working as necessary.
WHO SHOULD CONDUCT THE ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION?
Often, the injured employee's immediate supervisor is a good choice. The supervisor's knowledge of the department's operations can give them insight into the causes of an accident that an outsider might not have. Department directors-managers should participate in any accident investigation occurring in their department. Possibly, your safety committee may be needed to view circumstances objectively.
Safety committees should review the supervisor's report of injuries and reports of incidents to:
  • Confirm that an adequate investigation was completed
  • Conduct further investigations as necessary
  • Discuss corrective actions needed
  • Make sure the corrective actions (controls) are put in place
  • Monitor the effectiveness of the controls and make changes as necessary
  • Periodically review these efforts to identify trends or pattern of accidents that can be analyzed to prevent future accidents.
WHEN SHOULD WE INVESTIGATE?
All incidents and accidents should be investigated. The level and effort put into any particular investigation has to be weighed against the potential for harm and the frequency of occurrence. Serious accidents that occur frequently are the highest priority. The rare risk of a minor injury is the lowest priority. Common sense must be used to judge how best to determine the investigation effort.
 
Investigate as soon as possible. Always make sure injured employees receive immediate medical attention, and secure the area to ensure that no further injuries or damage can occur. But once the situation is stabilized, begin the investigation process.
It is important to investigate early because the episode is still fresh in people's minds, the physical circumstances have not significantly changed, and any witness's should be available.
HOW SHOULD WE INVESTIGATE?
Always remember the purpose of accident investigation. That purpose is to prevent future accidents. People are basically reasonable. But in accident investigations we frequently treat them as if they weren't.
Most accidents have a human component. That is, at sometime in most accidents a person made a decision, and that decision contributed to how the accident happened. For example, suppose Larry is standing in the middle of the block and needs to walk across the street. He looks up and down the street and decides that he can cut across without going to the corner and crossing at the light. He thinks the chances of an injury are so slight that the convenience of crossing the street from where he is outweighs the risk. That's the problem with looking at human error in accident investigations. Sometimes, human error isn't really error at all. Like Larry, people make decisions that seem reasonable at the time. We can do better if we change the environment in which the decision is made. Remember: 
  • The investigator needs to have all the preliminary information available regarding the accident; the person injured and the injury itself. You may need information regarding similar accidents that have happened in the past.
  •  Interview witnesses and do not lose the opportunity to discuss with the injured person, when available, the details regarding occurrence of the accident, and to obtain that person's recommendation for eliminating the hazard which caused the injury. Use a camera if available.
  • Document your efforts. Every accident investigation report should contain:
  • All information regarding the injured person
  • What the employee was supposed to be doing
  • What was actually being done at the time of the accident
  • How it was being done
  • Training the person has received
  • Past accident record
Examine the tools, machinery, protective equipment, work setting, office and other physical conditions as they existed at the time and place of the accident.
 
DEVELOPING CORRECTIVE ACTION
Study what was learned from the investigation and what changes can be made to address the causes of the accident. When hazards cannot be completely eliminated or controlled, alternate methods for increasing present protection should be considered and applied. Any reduction of the hazard is better than taking no action.
Much work expended on investigations is lost because nobody puts the ensuing recommendations to work. Arrangements should be made for the prompt consideration and disposition of recommendations resulting from accident investigations.
INCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS
Incidents are situations and/or circumstances that represent the potential to create injuries or property damage. When these are identified, they should be analyzed for the purpose of identifying corrective action just as if an injury did occur. The prevention of accidents is the best loss control. Use site inspections, first aid logs and safety information available about the equipment or activity, and safety suggestions from employees as techniques for locating the potential of accidents. Consider utilizing your CCAP Loss Control contact to assist you in your efforts to identify these potential accidents, provide accident prevention training and conducting hazard identification surveys.
FINALLY
Encourage early and timely reporting of all PComp Insurance accident claims. When investigating the accident/incident; remember to minimize the blame and stigma the can occur. Develop an initial plan for return to work options. Thoroughly investigating the accident/incident/claim is also very important to building a strong claim's defense posture which can effectively assist our mutual claims' efforts.
 
Quote of the month
 
 "Don't tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don't tell them where they know the fish."
 
- Mark Twain
 
 

CCAP Insurance Programs
PO Box 60769, Harrisburg, PA 17106-0769
Phone (800) 895-9039 - FAX (717) 526-1020
Claims Fax (888) 692-2368
Click here to go the Insurance Section of the CCAP Website.

email: [email protected]

Insurance Matters is published monthly by CCAP Insurance Programs for the use of members of CCAP's UC Trust, PCoRP, PComp, PIMCC, COMCARE, COMCARE PRO, BEST Flex, PELICAN and other insurance programs, and insurance producers of these members.

Advice contained in this publication is not legal advice and members are encouraged to seek the opinion of their solicitor.

The information provided in this publication is not intended to take the place of professional advice. Readers are encouraged to consult with competent legal, financial, or other appropriate professionals. Statements of facts and opinions expressed in this publication, by authors other than Association staff and officers, are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent an opinion or philosophy of the officers, members and staff of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP). No endorsement of advertised products or services is implied by CCAP unless those products or services are expressly endorsed, or are owned or managed by the Association programs, or our affiliates. This publication may not be reproduced, modified, distributed, or displayed in part or in whole, by any means, without advance written permission of CCAP. Please direct your requests to John Sallade, Managing Director, CCAP Insurance Programs, [email protected].

Note: As part of its copyright agreement the CCAP grants the author the right to place the final version of his/her manuscript on the author's homepage, subject to CCAP's standards, or in a public digital repository, provided there is a link to the CCAP website.

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