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Non-Legislative Paths to Fix Workers’ Comp
Workers’ compensation has long been a burden to nearly all parties involved in the process. Be it the employer, injured employee or insurance company, few feel like they’re getting the fair end of the deal. It’s no surprise states across the country are taking a stab at legislative changes to improve the workers’ compensation system.
Consider Tennessee. Not even a year after enacting workers’ comp reform, legislators are proposing to allow private employers to opt out of the traditional workers’ compensation plans in favor of writing their own rules.
While the driving force is to reduce the high costs typically associated with workers’ comp claims, it should be known that legislation is far from the only way to curb these costs. While there are multiple proactive back-end strategies, one of the most effective methods to significantly reduce claims costs is to enforce a well-defined modified duty program.
Beating Time, Saving Money, Reducing Risk With Modified Duty
Time is the main culprit behind the high cost of workers’ comp. When employees remain off the clock, the financial burden of a claim quickly snowballs. Consider that lost time alone accounts for about 94 percent of typical claim costs. Implementing a modified duty program to get injured employees back to work sooner – even in a limited physical capacity – is essential to addressing this costly problem.
Not only does indemnity increase with every day an injured employee remains at home, it also becomes more likely that other issues will arise that can compound costs. Injured employees who remain at home for long periods of time to heal are more likely to fall victim to depression, weight gain or prolonged healing from remaining inactive, which in turn, keeps medical expenses and lost time expenses accumulating.
Without modified duty, costly litigation is also more likely to happen because of secondary medical issues arising or the breakdown of employer communication that can occur when an employee is out of the office.
Yet, a pre-determined, stringent modified duty allows injured employees to heal in a manner that:
- is approved by a physician
- gets an injured employee physically active and socially stimulated
- keeps communication open with employers and
- demonstrates value to judicial and medical officials as permanent or temporary impairment ratings are delivered.
It’s important for a modified duty program to be in place before an employee gets injured to eliminate confusion and, ultimately, prevent additional lost time.
Work with employers to create modified job descriptions that accommodate a wide variety of injuries, including the inability to use one’s back, hands or legs, and keep them accountable to the program. Even if an injured employee does not live in the same area as the employer, as is often the case with truck drivers, for instance, he may be able to perform work for a local non-profit agency as a way to earn credit for modified duty.
While modified duty may be just one cog in the machine to reduce workers’ compensation claims costs, it can be the key to reducing significant expenses, removing the need for a legislative crutch.
