Presented by The Southern Association of Workers’ Compensation Administrators and The Self-Insurance Guaranty Funds of America
Separate Registration Is Required.
Register at: www.sawca.com.
Open Only To State Regulators, Officials and Legislators.
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
8:00 – 9:00 am
Continental Breakfast
9:00 – 4:00 pm
Hall of Cities – New York & New Orleans
Convention Level
College Deans:
Honorable Deneise Turner Lott
Senior Administrative Law Judge
Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission
Jackson, MS
Honorable R. Karl Aumann
Chair
Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission
Baltimore, MD
9:00 – 10:00 am
Planning For Catastrophic Events – Emergency Preparedness
Presenters:
Alfred Faber
Director /Division Head
ISO Workers’ Compensation Solutions
Jersey City, NJ
Elizabeth Bailey
Vice President, Workers Compensation & Safety
Waffle House
Norcross, GA
Tom Glasson
State Relations Officer
AIG
Dallas, TX
Ryan Brannan
The Brannan Firm
Austin, TX
Hurricanes, tornados, 100 year floods, ice storms, mud slides, forest fires, and “bomb cyclones”…by whatever name you use…“natural catastrophe” is really what we are talking about. How you respond…how you have prepared to respond…will determine how successful your company…your agency…will be able to meet the needs of your stakeholders. Alfred Faber will lead a panel…who unfortunately have gained knowledge and understanding through first-hand experience…in a discussion of what works…what doesn’t…and how to get started. Remember…it is never too early…but it can often be too late.
10:00 – 10:15 am
Morning Refreshment Break
10:15 – 11:15 am
Top Medical Issues Impacting State Systems
Presenters:
Paul Tauriello
Director
Colorado Division of Workers’ Compensation
Denver, CO
Jeffrey Hazelwood, MD
Pain Medicine Specialist
Lebanon, TN
It seems that the rest of the healthcare industry has finally admitted what workers’ compensation medical professionals have known for years…opioids are not the miracle cure for everything that hurts…and the practices of the last 20 years have led to a crisis that impacts all segments of our society. But while the war on drugs rages on, there are other issues that are also impacting the state workers’ compensation systems…and while it is popular to have a top 10 list…Paul Tauriello and Dr. Jeffrey Hazelwood will select their top 4 or 5 most serious medical issues for an in-the-weeds discussion that will lead to positive results.
11:15 – 12:15 pm
Medical Fee Schedules
Presenters:
Greg Gilbert
Senior Vice President
Chief Reimbursement & Governmental Relations Officer
Concentra, Inc.
Addison, TX
Ryan Brannan
The Brannan Firm
Austin, TX
Although the use of medical fee schedules throughout the nation is widespread with only a handful of states not utilizing this type of tool to curb medical expenses, the details associated with these schedules…what they cover…how much they pay…how often are they updated…is there a “best basis” to which they should be indexed…raise questions as diverse as the nation itself. So while the first bridge to cross for a state was/is whether or not to implement a fee schedule as a tool to rein in the growing cost of medical bills…other questions exist for those who have had them in place for many years. Has the effort to curb costs resulted in reduced access for injured workers to a quality of care equal to that had the injury occurred in the general healthcare arena? Greg Gilbert and Ryan Brannan lead a discussion on all aspects of medical fee schedules.
12:15 – 1:15 pm
Lunch Provided For All “Students” & “Faculty”
1:15 – 2:15 pm
Fraud & Uninsured Employers
Presenters:
Andrew Sabolic
Assistant Director
Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation
Tallahassee, FL
Stan Bexley
Division Director
Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation
Atlanta, GA
Grace Nicholas
Sr. Manager Special Investigations
Texas Mutual Insurance Company
Austin, TX
An employee “exaggerates” the severity of an injury…a business operates bare…an approved self-insured employer intentionally files false/incomplete reports minimizing its ultimate liability…and the loser is…all of us. We are all familiar with the cases of employee fraud…but fraud is just as likely to exist with the employer and/or the numerous companies providing services for the employer. It is an economic reality that some employers will maximize their profits by failing to adhere to the rules and regulations governing their operations. In a small number of cases this failure may be unintentional…just a simple mistake. But in other situations it can represent an intentional disregard for the legal responsibilities associated with operating a business and employing workers. Operating a business without workers’ compensation coverage places the employees at risk and creates an uneven playing field that benefits the non-compliant employer. Regulating and monitoring businesses to ensure appropriate and adequate coverage is an enforcement responsibility of the state that can manifest itself in a number of ways…from simple fines to an immediate closure of the business. Andrew Sabolic and Stan Bexley will lead a discussion on the various issues associated with fraud and uninsured employers.
2:15 – 2:30 pm
Afternoon Refreshment Break
2:30 – 3:30 pm
EDI – Summary & Update
Presenters:
Ryan Duke
EDI QA Assistant Manager
Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission
Richmond, VA
Stephanie Sweeney
EDI QA Manager
Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission
Richmond, VA
EDI…Electronic Data Interchange…presenters will share a brief history of EDI along with a summary and update on where EDI is in 2018. Topics discussed will include FROI, SROI, data elements, and their importance, staying current with supported versions, transitioning to a more current release, the importance of adequate testing before implementing, communicating with your stakeholders, and a preview of IAIABC Release 3.1 pending in the fall of 2018.
3:30 – 4:00 pm
Developing Tools, Resources, & Networks
Presenters:
Honorable Deneise Turner Lott
Senior Administrative Law Judge
Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission
Jackson, MS
Honorable R. Karl Aumann
Chair
Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission
Baltimore, MD
This final session will provide an overview of the various national and regional associations that exist to support the workers’ compensation industry and resources that can provide information. We conclude the college with an open discussion focusing on those topics covered over the past two days as well as issues that may have surfaced during discussions.