Karen C. Yotis, Esq., our Feature Resident Columnist, provides insights into workplace issues and the nuts and bolts of the workers' comp world.

As policymakers, risk managers, and insurers seek to contain medical expenditures in workers' compensation claims, pharmacy charges are lined up squarely in the cost containment crosshairs. Some government programs and an ever-growing number of commercial insurers are using closed drug formularies to keep a lid on pharmacy costs. In a recent investigation titled Impact of a Texas-Like Formulary in Other States that WCRI published in June 2014, authors Vennela Thumula and Te-Chun Liu may be moving this cost containment tool that some detractors refer to as "cook book medicine" a few baby steps closer to becoming a nationwide best practice...read more.

Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., our Feature National Columnist, is a leading commentator and expert on the law of workers' compensation.

New York: Assistant Manager's PTSD Claim Tied to Murder-for-Hire Scheme Found Compensable. A New York appellate court has held that the exacerbation of a supermarket assistant manager's preexisting PTSD arose out of and in the course of his employment when, after he called a coworker at her home to discuss a work-related matter, the coworker's husband, who thought that the manager and his wife must be having an affair...read more.

Federal: Massachusetts Federal Court Strikes Down State Regulation Limiting Sale of New Opioid. A federal district court, indicating that state lawmakers "may not use vague regulations to sidestep or countermand federal law" for opioid dispensing, has struck down two Massachusetts regulations that would ban or limit sales of Zohydro ER...read more.

Nebraska: Wheelchair Accessible Van Is "Appliance" Under Medical Care Provisions of State's Comp Act. Noting that it was a case of first impression with the state, a Nebraska appellate court has found that a wheelchair accessible van is an "appliance" under the state's Workers' Compensation Act...read more.

Federal: Facebook Comment Regarding Injured Worker's Medical Condition May Subject Employer to Liability under ADA. A federal district court has refused to dismiss a civil action filed against a company by a former employee who claimed that a former coworker, who processed workers' compensation claims for the company, violated § 102 of the Americans With Disabilities Act's by posting a derogatory comment about...read more.