Over the past year, the DIME process under WCRP 11 (Rule 11), has undergone a major overhaul to smooth out some persistent rough edges. The transformation, as the project was named, had two primary goals: Improve efficiency and provide incentives to retain/attract physicians in the available pool. In respect to the former, the assembly and…
The driver of a commercial vehicle carrying 78,000 pounds is going too fast around a corner, loses control, and rolls down a 40-foot embankment. He is found hanging upside down in the truck by paramedics called to the crash. You have a Lease agreement with the driver/operator that states he will carry his own workers’…
The Colorado Division of Workers’ Compensation is vigorously investigating whether contractors on construction sites are properly carrying workers’ compensation insurance and verifying coverage of any subcontractors. In Colorado, all employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance for their employees. Any person, company or corporation contracting any work out is construed to be an employer.…
In a May 11, 2011 memorandum, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reiterated its guidance regarding CMS’ Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-Aside Agreements (WCMSA). The memorandum confirmed submission of a WCMSA proposal to CMS for review and approval is a recommended process. There are no statutory or regulatory provisions requiring a WCMSA proposal be…
In 2019, Colorado earned the top spot for the highest percentage of employees who work from home, according to Flex.Jobs https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/infographic-which-states–have-most-full-time-telecommuters. While telecommuting is not realistic for every company, many jobs have at least some component that employees can do flexibly even if a job requires an employee to be onsite for specific hours. Perhaps…
We typically think of compensable injuries occurring when the employee is already at their place of employment. But what about the time employees spend on the road, coming from and going to work? Many industries require employees to drive as part of their daily duties, not to mention the time workers in various professions spend…
The Colorado Supreme Court issued an opinion on May 30, 2017 in England v. Amerigas Propane, 395 P.3d 766 (Colo. 2017). This case involved settlement of workers’ compensation matters and may even affect settlement of liability matters in a personal injury case. The case has significant ramifications for employers and carriers moving forward. BACKGROUND Mr.…
A ubiquitous problem in workers’ compensation patient care, as well as in the general clinical healthcare setting, is an individual patient’s use, and potential abuse, of controlled prescription narcotics. The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) is the State of Colorado’s secure, central electronic informational data base that records and tracks each pharmacist’s dispensement of controlled…
Reimbursement and Recovery – Medical Care Providers Increasing costs of medical care have created reimbursement and recovery incentive for providers. Often times medical care secondary to an injury, whether work related or otherwise, becomes the subject of recovery and reimbursement attempts by the providers, as the providers are not inclined to provide care that is…