Jason Shafrin of Healthcare Economist hosts this week’s edition of Health Wonk Review in newspaper style – it’s lean and clean, and packed with interesting pointers to the latest news.
NCCI conference – Peter Rousmaniere attended the annual NCCI Conference this year and reports back on his findings, posted at Joe’s place.
When less is more – Joe Paduda of Managed Care Matters beats a drum that needs beating. Why do buyers use unit cost reductions rather than total cost reductions as a metric of savings in measuring network performance? It’s a perverse incentive that encourages utilization.
You-Don’t-Say Department – a recent survey of small businesses shows that many are spending work comp dollars without knowing what they’re buying. About one out of every seven couldn’t name their insurer and don’t understand their coverage. In a related survey, almost one in five respondents who had just switched to a new insurer weren’t able to name that insurer. Our experience has been that small employers often learn about workers comp the hard way – it would be great if as an industry, we did a better job communicating what workers’ comp is and how it benefits both employers and employees.
Missouri gets tough – Missouri employers who try to cut corners by not carrying workers comp should think twice – the Supreme Court recently upheld a felony conviction for an employer that failed to carry workers comp coverage for his employees. The conviction includes one year in prison and $30,000 in fines and penalties. (More about the Court’s proceedings.)
Useful resource – 101 little known scholarship sources for nurses – a good reference list for both undergraduates and graduates.
And the winner is… – In an interesting bit of insurance trivia, Fireman’s Fund Insurance names the riskiest film of 2007.
Tags: films, HWR, Missouri, NCCI, networks, uninsured, utilization
