Jared Rhoads of The Lucidicus Project hosts this week’s Health Wonk Review, and he dishes up a heaping helping of the blogosphere’s best heath policy posts from the last two weeks. Check it out!
Happy Birthday – to David Williams at Health Business Blog for 6 years of quality healthcare blogging. David is one f the regular Health Wonkers. See his Best of the Blog post for a fine sampling of his work.
More sports-related head trauma tragedy – Earlier this week, my colleague posted about football-related chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Yesterday, the New York Times featured a story about how hockey brawler Bob Probert also suffered from CTE: “But the legacy of [Bob] Probert, who died last July of heart failure at 45, could soon be rooted as much in his head as his hands.After examining Probert’s brain tissue, researchers at Boston University said this week that they found the same degenerative disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, whose presence in more than 20 deceased professional football players has prompted the National Football League to change some rules and policies in an effort to limit dangerous head impacts.”
Bill review – Are you getting what you pay for with medical bill review? At Managed Care Matters, Joe Paduda takes some of the mystery out of the equation in his discussion about what your savings should be from your work comp medical bill review program.
Criminal indictment for Massey mine official – Hughie Elbert Stover, the chief of security for Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine has been charged with two felonies related to the April 2010 explosion that killed 29 coal miners. He is accused of lying to investigators and destroying records. On his blog, reporter Ken Ward asks if this is just the beginning of indictments.
Don’t mess with Texas – If you ever use the words “workers compensation” and “Texas” in the same sentence, you better think twice. TX law blogger John Gibson has been issued a “cease and desist” order and threatened with further legal action for his TX Workers Comp Law Blog for having the temerity to use the words “workers compensation” and “Texas” in his blog. We can’t get Gibson’s take because his blog appears to be down (www.texasworkerscomplaw.com), but Julius Young posts the scoop on the Texas workers comp language imbroglio at his Oakland Workers Comp Blog. If you don’t see his post – or ours – please blame Texas. Just to be on the safe side, from here on out we may begin referring to Texas as “Exas-Tay.”
Sedgwick acquires SRS – In a major move in the world of third party administrators, Sedgwick completed the purchased of Specialty Risk Services for $278 million. SRS was the claims TPA arm of The Hartford. In his bog on the Hartford Courant, Matthew Sturdevant reports that: “The deal makes Sedgwick CMS the largest independent North American provider of claims administration services. The combined companies will have annualized revenue of about $1 billion as well as almost 8,500 employees.”
Devil’s in the details – Yvonne Guilbert of Complex Care Blog posts two concrete incidents that show how one small detail missed in home care could easily end up costing $50,000 or more.
Safe hiring practices – As the economy ramps up, new hires will increase an employer’s potential for workplace injuries. At MEMIC Safety Blog, Greg LaRochelle says that a new employee is 5x more likely to have a lost-time injury than a more experienced worker, and that 40% of all workers injured on the job have been on the job for less than a year. He posts about hiring practices to help mitigate risk.
Hiring Vets – HR Daily Advisor offers a good roundup of tips and advice for hiring returning veterans. The post includes questions to ask and to avoid during the interview.
Short Takes
AIG results and workers comp
Four steps to evaluate absence policies
Insurance Fraud Hall of Shame 2010
Smiling makes the world go round
7 wellness benefits employees want most