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Worker's Compensation

NIOSH Dose Reconstruction Project Technical Basis Document for the Pantex Plant 2/18/04 Office of Compensation Analysis and Support Dose Reconstruction

2004 State Report Cards for Workers’ Comp http://www.disabilitydurations.com/pr_repsrc.htm Just Released: 2004 State Report Cards for Workers’ Comp, based on newly available OSHA data Work Loss Data Institute ­ 07/01/04 San Diego, CA ­ A new study based on data from OSHA Form 300’s and 200’s, covering all OSHA recordable injuries and illnesses, provides the basis for rating state-by-state workers’ compensation performance. The study, called 2004 State Report Cards for Workers’ Comp, was prepared by Work Loss Data Institute (WLDI) to help employers, insurers, TPA’s, state governments, and consultants answer the questions, "Who is doing well and why?" Unlike the first edition of this report in March 2003, which provided data for the year 2000 only, this report provides trending information as well as complete information for each of three years, 2002, 2001, and 2000. As in the first report, six different outcome measures were compared among the states for each year: (1) Incidence Rates, (2) Cases Missing Work, (3) Median Disability Durations, (4) Delayed Recovery Rate, (5) Key Conditions: Low Back Strain, and (6) Key Conditions: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. A key requirement for production of this report was the proprietary crosswalk program that has been developed by Work Loss Data Institute, which converts OSHA-reported data into an ICD9 code format. More details on the methodology used is located at http://www.odg-disability.com/pr_repsrc_methods.htm. Alabama was the "Most Improved" state in overall ranking, and received an "A" in 2002. Utah got a solid "A" in every year, and outcomes have even gotten better over the period. Indiana also has excellent outcomes, especially in minimizing missed work, and they have been consistently good, also earning "A"s in every year. Minnesota is again one of our winners, not only being among nine states receiving an "A" in 2002, but also receiving "A"s consistently for all three years. Other "A"s were received in 2002 by Georgia, Iowa, and Virginia. New Mexico has the unfortunate distinction of being the "Biggest Decliner" over the period from 2000, when they got a "B+", to 2002, when they received a "D". Texas has actually made some improvement, going from an "F" to a "D-". This improvement is primarily due to an excellent performance in prevention and safety (keeping the incidence rate of cases low compared to the population as a whole). However, when it comes to return-to-work (delayed recovery and median disability durations), Texas remains last. California, the largest state, received a flunking grade for all three years. Performance was not good on all measures, but is close to the bottom when it comes to getting workers back on the job and preventing outliers, especially for carpal tunnel syndrome. New York has gotten even worse. They received "F"s in all three years, but they went from being in the middle of the "F"s, to being in last place as a state (second to last after Puerto Rico). Other "F"s were received by Delaware, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, West Virginia, and Wyoming. A summary of each grade for all states is shown on a U.S. Map Showing Grades by State, located at http://www.odg-disability.com/pr_repsrc_us.htm. Also new for 2004, this report analyzes the association of specific managed care programs to outcomes by comparing the average ranking for those participating states with the program to the average ranking for those participating states without the program. Participating states with a state workers’ compensation insurance fund did slightly worse than states with no state fund, with a decline in ranking of 1.2 points. Limiting provider choice seems to result in a very large positive difference in ranking, with states going up in the ranking by 9.5 points when provider choice is limited. Use of a fee schedule indicates a decline in the ranking by 3.4 points, and use of state-specific treatment guidelines manifests a decline of 5.9 points. The WLDI special report, entitled 2004 State Report Cards for Workers’ Comp provides complete detail on all cases for the 45 participating states and territories, based on all cases reported to OSHA for the year 2002, 2001, and 2000, as an 83-page report with narrative, plus over 50 spreadsheet files with complete detailed backup data that is referenced in the narrative. It is available in both electronic and hardcopy formats for $225 each. Note: The electronic format is recommended to facilitate links to the electronic spreadsheet files and the supporting data. Work Loss Data Institute is an independent database development company focused on workplace health and productivity, and publisher of Official Disability Guidelines, ODG Treatment in Workers’ Comp, the ACOEM Guidelines on the Web and Employer Health Register. To purchase the 2004 State Report Cards for Workers’ Comp ($225), visit www.disabilitydurations.com/specreportorder.htm, or contact WLDI at 800-488-5548 (760-753-9992).