VERMONT GETS COMP PACKAGE:

As promised, Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas has introduced legislation to make changes in the state’s workers’ compensation system. The reform package, H.632, contains provisions for higher penalties for fraud, incentives for return-to-work, mandatory medical case management, shortening of the time allowed to file claims, restrictions on cost of living adjustments and changes to the law governing on-premises recreational vehicle injuries. The recommendations follow a recent report identifying problem areas with the workers’ comp system. The administration proposes treating workers’ comp fraud as a felony, thus enlarging penalties to include imprisonment. To streamline the claims process, Douglas wants to simplify the rate calculation to provide that injured workers receive two-thirds of their usual wages as well as penalize insurers that fail to pay benefits within 30 days of their becoming due. Citing national data that indicates Vermont workers are out of work longer than in other jurisdictions and the length of disability is increasing, Douglas called for mandating medical case management. He also is proposing trimming the state’s statute of limitations for filing a claim from six to three years, curtailing cost of living adjustments and making vocational rehabilitation, which is now mandatory, voluntary as it is in most other states. New England Regional Manager Frank O’Brien of the Property Casualty Insurers of America was first with industry reaction to the plan. “While there are no easy answers to these issues, passage of this bill should significantly improve the system by simplifying some processes and rationalizing others. In this regard, PCI is especially supportive of the sections of the bill pertaining to changes to the calculation of benefits and limiting cost of living adjustments to permanent total disability,” O’Brien said.