Vol. 7, Issue 25

Find Solutions & Strategies                June 20, 2016

California WCMSAs Compromise and Release and Medicare Set-Aside: Informed Consent and Assumption of Risk   
In This Issue
A Note From the Editor
compromise and release and medicare set-aside: informed consent and assumption of risk
Liability for future medical treatment for a work related condition cannot be transferred to Medicare without its permission
 
Medicare Set Aside PuzzleIn Alvarenga v. Scope Industries, 2016 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS --, the WCAB panel rescinded the WCJ's order approving the parties' Compromise and Release, which included a Medicare Set-Aside (MSA) of $24,079.23 that the parties did not submit to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for approval. The WCAB panel did not adopt the defendant's position that at the time the order approving Compromise and Release was issued there was a mutual mistake by the parties regarding whether or not the MSA required CMS approval. The WCAB panel explained that, while CMS does not require review of an MSA, if the MSA settlement has not been approved by CMS, CMS is not...read more.
JOEM study supports contention that ebm guidelines result in better outcomes for injured workers and reduced costs for employers
First comprehensive study evaluating evidence-based medicine guidelines in comp setting

By Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., co-author of Larson's Workers' Compensation Law
    
In recent years within the workers' compensation (WC) arena, proponents of evidence-based medicine (EBM) have contended that managing an injured worker's care according to established practice and treatment guidelines results not only in a savings in overall medical care costs, but also in better outcomes for the injured worker. A recent study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine [See Hunt, Dan L., DO, et al., "A New Method of Assessing the Impact of Evidence-Based Medicine on Claim Outcomes," JOEM, Vol. 58, No. 5, pp. 519-24, January 2016], now provides at least some empirical support for that claim...read more.
california compensation cases 
Cal Comp Cases
Request for Additional Time Extended Time to Issue UR Determination. Lexis.com and Lexis Advance online subscribers can read it here.
california news headlines

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