Vol. 7, Issue 11

Find Solutions & Strategies March 14, 2016

Tax-Funded Healthcare Expenditures in the U.S.

Do taxpayers shoulder a greater burden for healthcare in the U.S. than we generally presume?

In This Issue

- TAXPAYER BURDEN

- OALJ RULES: ALJ POWERS

- LARSON'S: Average Weekly Wage, Reduced Earnings, Farm Labor Contractor, Expert Medical Advisor

- NATIONAL & STATE NEWS

- eNEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

A Note From the Editor

Workers' Compensation Emerging Issues Analysis

tax-funded healthcare expenditures in the u.s.

Do taxpayers shoulder a greater burden for healthcare in the U.S. than we generally assume?

By Roger Rabb, J.D., Special Correspondent, LexisNexis Workers' Compensation eNewsletter

Debates over health care funding in the U.S. have flourished for decades, and arguments inevitably arise over how much of the health care bill should be picked up by government. Looking no farther in the past than the passage of the Affordable Care Act by Congress in 2010, with its debate over single payor government programs versus mandatory purchase of private insurance policies, we can see the extent to which the debate can be dominated by the question of how big government's role should be. However, as with most policy debates, the devil is in the detail, and any current policy discussion over this question should at least be able to agree on the amount of funding that government actually provides in the U.S. for health care expenditures in order to decide where to go next...read more.

NEW RULES OF oalj rules of practice AND proceDure increase powers to alj's

By John E. Kawczynski, Esq.

In his commentary "About Time! New ALJ Regulations Finally Final,"Tom Fitzhugh examined how the new "Rules of Practice and Procedure for Administrative Hearings Before the Office of Administrative Law Judges" have changed discovery practice before the Office of Administrative Law Judges (BRBS/Longshore Reporter, Release 785, December 2015). In addition to changing the discovery rules, the new rules, which became effective June 18, 2015, radically change the rules with regard to the ability of an administrative law judge to regulate the conduct of the parties appearing before him and her...read more.

LARSON'S SPOTLIGHT ON RECENT CASES

Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., our Feature National Columnist, is the co-author of Larson's Workers' Compensation Law (LexisNexis).

Connecticut: Vacation Days Taken Prior to Injury Must Be Counted for Weekly Wage Purposes. Where a Connecticut employee enjoyed two weeks of paid vacation during the 52 weeks preceding his injury, those vacation days did not constitute "an absence for seven consecutive calendar days" under the terms of...read more.

New York: Reduced Earnings Award Denied Where Reduction Was for Reasons Unrelated to Injury. A New York appellate court held that while evidence of a claimant's work-related permanent partial disability permits an inference that a subsequent loss of wages or reduction in earnings is attributable to...read more.

Washington: High Court Defines "Farm Labor Contractor". In a class action lawsuit by farmworkers against four corporate defendants, the Supreme Court of Washington answered two certified questions submitted by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals...read more.

Florida: Expert Medical Advisor's Presumed Correct Even on Issues Not Directly Addressed by the Parties. Where a judge of compensation claims (JCC) appointed an expert medical advisor to help resolve disagreements among the claimant's and insurer's physicians, the JCC erred when he excluded the...read more.

national & state news

NCCI Posts 2015 State of the Line Reference Guide.

OSHA Considering Panel's Recommendations for New Safety Guidelines.

Lockton Releases White Paper on Opioid Epidemic and Chronic Pain.

Senate Poised to Pass Bill to Reduce Opioid Abuse.

CA: DWC Posts Ethics Advisory Committee Annual Report for 2015.

CA: Supreme Court to Start Streaming Oral Argument Beginning in May.

CA: RAND Releases Working Paper on Benefits, Earnings for Permanently Disabled Workers.

DE: Dept. of Ins. Helped Businesses Save $9.3M in Work Comp Ins. Costs.

FL: Medical Marijuana Bill Sent to Governor.

ME: Governor Backs Bill to Require Docs to Use PDMP, Limit Supply of Opiates.

MD: Chesapeake Announces Four Promotions.

MA: High Court Rejects Selective Tender Rule in Workers Comp Policies Case.

MA: Houses Passes H4056 to Limit First-Time Prescriptions for Opioids.

NV: WCS Notes ACOEM Guidelines Adds Drug Formulary.

NM: Governor Signs HB 43 Public Safety Employee Contribution Payments.

OR: WCD Publishes Final Medical Fee and Payment, Medical Services Rules.

OR: WCD Posts List of Insurers, Self-Insureds Required to Report Medical Bill Payment Data.

PA: Opinion: Treatment Guidelines Bill Is Attack on Worker Rights.

TX: Ins. Commissioner Posts W.C. Research and Evaluation Group FY 2016 Agenda.

TX: Ins. Commissioner Adopts Revised Workers' Comp Classification Relativities.

VA: House Passes Bill for Medical Marijauna.

WY: Governor Signs Bill for Deadline to Request Hearing on Final Determination of WC Benefits.

ENEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

Take a deep dive into our past eNewsletters for 2016 and prior...warning - some links to articles may not work...report any linking problems to Robin.E.Kobayashi@lexisnexis.com.

March 7, 2016: Up in Smoke: Medical Marijuana.
February 29, 2016: Oklahoma Opt Out Statute Ruled Unconstitutional.
February 22, 2016: Federalization of Workers' Comp.
February 16, 2016: Impact of Age and Tenure on Length of Disability.
February 8, 2016: The Battle Over Reliable Expert Testimony.
February 1, 2016: Study on Satisfaction With Healthcare for Injured Workers.

ACCESS ARCHIVES AND ARTICLES LIST HERE.

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