Worker Comp Insurance Cost Shifting Study. Leigh 2012

To finish today's marathon session I want to share this 2012 Study by Paul Leigh and James Marcin from UC Davis in California.  A study that revealed massive worker compensation insurance cost shifting.  Please think about it.  None of that was done in the interest of better patient care, it was all about making the system churn out more corporate profits.  Why do we put up with it?  Before complaining about the costs of Amendment 69, think about how much your health insurance cost is going to increase.  How much will your health care improve? 

Shouldn't our health care dollars go to providing our health care?  

Vote YES on ColoradoCare and Amendment 69.

{ hat tip to Dr. Tom Horiagon for sharing this and the previous Department of Labor 2016 study that provided further supporting evidence for these complaints and the need for substantive health care reform. } 

Of all the posts I've put up today, may I recommend 
"Passing Amendment 69 - Why the Fear?  Embrace the Challenge!" 

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Workers' compensation benefits and shifting costs for occupational injury and illness.

Leigh JP, Marcin JP.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22446573

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Whereas national prevalence estimates for workers' compensation benefits are available, incidence estimates are not. Moreover, few studies address which groups in the economy pay for occupational injury and illness when workers' compensation does not.

METHODS:

Data on numbers of cases and costs per case were drawn from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and National Council on Compensation Insurance data sets. Costs not covered by workers' compensation were estimated for private and public entities.

RESULTS:

Total benefits in 2007 were estimated to be $51.7 billion, with $29.8 billion for medical benefits and $21.9 billion for indemnity benefits. For medical costs not covered by workers' compensation, other (non-workers' compensation) insurance covered $14.22 billion, Medicare covered $7.16 billion, and Medicaid covered $5.47 billion.

CONCLUSION:

Incidence estimates of national benefits for workers' compensation were generated by combining existing published data. Costs were shifted to workers and their families, non-workers' compensation insurance carriers, and governments.

Source:  J Occup Environ Med. 2012 Apr;54(4):445-50. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0b013e3182451e54.

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UC Davis Health System Newsroom | May 25, 2012

Most occupational injury and illness costs are paid by the government and private payers rather than workers' compensation insurance, UC Davis study shows

Paul Leigh‚ Sacramento, California |

http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/publish/news/newsroom/6621