July 22, 2009

Internet web-based portal for WCMSA proposal submitters and other affected workers’ compensation stakeholders.

In an attempt to make it easier for entities to report workers’ compensation settlements that contemplate future medical (including prescription drug) treatments, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposes, by calendar year 2010, to streamline the WCMSA proposal submission process for the various affected stakeholders by making available an Internet web-based portal or interface. The benefits of an Internet web-based portal or interface for submitters and other affected workers’ compensation stakeholders include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Allows for quicker creation of new WCMSA cases for processing.
  • Facilitates tracking of the status of submitted WCMSA cases.
  • Provides for almost instantaneous feedback to the submitter.
  • Reduces the need for mailings.

Before launching development efforts in this direction, however, CMS wishes to gauge the workers’ compensation industry’s readiness for this submission methodology. Please review and complete the “Survey of Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-Aside (WCMSA) Process,” Your completed response should be emailed (with “Survey” in the Subject line) to the MSP Central mailbox at: mspcentral@cms.hhs.gov no later than July 31, 2009.

Source

Comparing Outcomes for Injured Workers in Michigan

One way to examine the performance of a state workers’ compensation system is in the context of a key value proposition. When employers pay more for medical care, workers should experience better outcomes for that higher expenditure. Otherwise, the logical question becomes: why are employers paying more? Using this framework, we found that Michigan’s workers’ compensation system provided a “better” value proposition for employers and injured workers...
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