specialty drugs: an approaching tsunami in workers' comp costs? |
Earlier this year, myMatrixx, a company specializing in pharmacy and ancillary services for workers' compensation programs, forecast in a Webinar broadcast that drug treatment costs in these programs are poised to rise exponentially. Their projected acceleration of costs is attributed to acceleration in the development of new specialty drugs. Apparently these new drugs, which up to now have commanded only a very modest share of the marketplace, are about to muscle their way on to center stage. Over the course of an hour, panelists Phil Walls, R.Ph (myMatrixx Chief Clinical and Compliance Officer) and Jennifer Dragoun, M.D. (myMatrixx Vice President and Chief Medical Officer CompServices, Inc./AmeriHealth Casualty) brought into sharp relief the cost and efficacy of specialty drugs, and their likely use within workers' compensation programs. They project that expenditures to date with respect to these drugs is the proverbial tip of the iceberg; their use and resultant cost is apparently about to skyrocket...read more. |
LARSON'S SPOTLIGHT ON RECENT CASES |
Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., our Feature National Columnist, is a leading commentator and expert on the law of workers' compensation.

Illinois: Death Benefits Awarded for Exotic Medical Condition Contracted on Trip to Brazil. A court has affirmed an award of death benefits to the widow of an executive who died after contracting Neisseria meningitides, apparently while on a business trip to Brazil...read more.
Georgia: Dangerous Railway Crossing Works to Extend Employer's Premises Beyond Leased Building. A court held that a worker's fatal injuries arose out of and in the course of his employment where the vehicle the worker was driving was struck by an oncoming train as the worker crossed railway tracks...read more.
Virginia: Unusual Height of Platform Means "Step-Down" Injury Is Compensable. In a decision that has not been designated for publication, a court affirmed an award of workers' compensation benefits to a worker who injured his right knee, back, and right hip when he allegedly slipped while stepping down from a platform about fifteen...read more. |