Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Good news on workers’ comp?

Posted in:

Illinois

* From the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission chairman…

Dear Governor Rauner:

On behalf of the entire Workers’ Compensation Commission, I am pleased to submit the Fiscal Year 2014 annual report.

Workers’ compensation costs are declining. Insurers reported a 19% decrease in total benefit payments (loss costs) between 2011-2015. The Workers’ Compensation Research Institute found that Illinois experienced the largest decrease in the average medical payment per claim among study states. The Oregon study found Illinois experienced the largest savings on workers’ compensation insurance.

More good news: in FY14, the first two felony convictions came in against employers that failed to follow the law to buy workers’ compensation insurance. These employers were given many opportunities to obtain insurance, but they refused. Uninsured employers put their workers at risk and they enjoy an unfair competitive advantage over law-abiding employers. These convictions strike a blow for a safer, more competitive Illinois economy for all.

My goals for the upcoming year are to instill professionalism, increase efficiency, and improve technology at the Commission. Through this effort, we will improve the administration of the Illinois workers’ compensation program. We appreciate your leadership and support in this process.

Sincerely,

Joann M. Fratianni Chairman

* From the report…

• Illinois experienced the largest decrease in the average medical payment per claim among WCRI study states, and moved from the highest state to near the median. For all cases, Illinois’ average medical payment per case fell 16% from 2010-2012. Importantly, there was little change in utilization, meaning providers did not provide more services to make up for the lost income. […]

• The closely-watched Oregon study found that Illinois had the largest decrease in premiums among all the states, dropping from the 4th highest to the 7th highest between 2012-2014. And the effects of some of the 2011 legislative changes have yet to register.

• The Illinois 2011 injury rate is 66% lower than in 1990. The overall injury rate in Illinois is lower than most states, and has declined dramatically over the years. Roughly 3% of Illinois workers experience an injury each year; only 1% loses time from work.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 10:41 am

Comments

Well..there you go. All fixed, I guess this is off the table for a year end deal..

Comment by Wow Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 10:43 am
3…..2……1……waiting for Trover to blast this ’sham’ letter regarding Workers Comp.

Comment by How Ironic Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 10:48 am
And before the TeamBungle crackdown could take place.

QOTD how long til BVR’s chair is rolled out to explain all isn’ so good ( TeeHee).

Safe to say the cover letter not cleared with the TB speech censors.

Comment by Anonin' Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 10:48 am
Waiting for this to be termed a ’sham’ report by the GO, created at the specific request of MJM. Can’t let facts get in the way, the high priced A Team is all you need. Right?

Comment by Not the A Team Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 10:48 am
Wow. Good news for Illinois. Bad news for the Raunerites.

Comment by Tough Guy Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 10:50 am
==dropping from the 4th highest to the 7th highest==

==Well..there you go. All fixed==

LOL.

“Remain calm! All is well!”

Comment by SES Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 10:51 am
Unemployment is down, there is robust job growth, and workers comp seems to be in good shape. So why do we need the “turnaround agenda” again?

Comment by Xavier Woods Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 10:52 am
And this positive Worker’s Comp report follows a recent report that Illinois ranked No. 2 among states where businesses are being created the fastest. That report was released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Capitol Fax covered that report last week.

Comment by Joe M Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 10:52 am
While this report contained promising signs, long-term reform of the workman’s compensation system is the only way to ensure true economic growth and business competitiveness in the 21st century.

Comment by Chicago Hack Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 10:54 am
==workers comp seems to be in good shape.==

Hahahah, oh man this is going to be a great comments section.

I say again… ==dropping from the 4th highest to the 7th highest==

Comment by SES Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 10:55 am
Reform candidates can’t reform what doesn’t need to be reformed. Incumbents can enact reform whenever it is needed to undercut any reform candidate’s arguments.

Rauner’s argument that we have a crisis here demanding that things get changed as he wants them, loses power when there isn’t a crisis.

No one voted for Rauner because they liked him. They voted for him because of how he told us he could fix each crisis. No crisis - no Rauner.

Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 10:56 am
==- SES - Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 10:51 am:==

Your drive-by missed this in the very next sentence, “And the effects of some of the 2011 legislative changes have yet to register.”

Comment by Precinct Captain Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 10:56 am
==- SES - Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 10:55 am:==

Four minutes in between and you still couldn’t read, “And the effects of some of the 2011 legislative changes have yet to register.”

Comment by Precinct Captain Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 10:57 am
PC, that’s a fine argument to make and I wouldn’t discount it. It’s not a very strong defense of the “this improvement means our WC system is perfectly fine” group though. Thanks for insulting me though.

Comment by SES Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:00 am
Well that should kill the urgency on this issue.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:01 am
===not a very strong defense of the “this improvement means our WC system is perfectly fine”===

Straw man argument alert.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:02 am
…”felony convictions came in against employers”…

Is Rauner going to sign Pardons for them?

Comment by DuPage Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:03 am
Has anyone else noticed that everything on Rauners agenda to improve our buisness climent is uneeded? Since we are second in the nation with new buisness, work comp is declining under existing fixes etc… How about we just pass the budget and not wreck what is already working…..

Comment by Ghost Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:05 am
===is uneeded===

I wouldn’t say that, and you shouldn’t either.

“All is well” is a fool’s argument in this state.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:07 am
DuPage: LOL

Comment by downstate commissioner Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:07 am
==Straw man argument alert.==

Not really. I’m not trying to refute PC’s claim that 2011 reforms need more time. I’m sure there merit to it. My comments were only directed at the “everything is fine, were in great shape” crowd.

We’re 7th highest still. Let’s get to the middle of the pack before we declare victory.

Comment by SES Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:08 am
No good news is good news in some circles.

Comment by Wordslinger Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:13 am
Both this report and the report about the number of new businesses created cover the Quinn administration. It undermines Rauner’s statement that Quinn was the worst governor ever.

On the other hand, it certainly shows why Quinn lost. He actually had a pretty decent record on many of the issues that Rauner beat him up on. But somehow he could never talk about it. A great example is pensions. Quinn actually made the pension payments under the ramp — only Governor to not put off pension payments in my lifetime. But it was a big secret to the people of Illinois.

But that’s an old election. The impact of this WC report is that it removes some pressure from moving the only item on the Turnaround Agenda that had some traction. And since Rauner is going to want something (everything?), this does not bode well for working together.

Comment by the Other Anonymous Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:14 am
==- SES - Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:08 am:==

All of the 2011 reforms didn’t come into play at once. It was staggered over time. The provisions that are most recent deserve as much time to see if they work or not as the reforms that came into play the earliest.

Comment by Precinct Captain Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:16 am
The Other Anonymous beat me to it. This report is a belated vindication of the man Rauner called “the worst governor in the United States.”

Comment by nona Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:18 am
nona….big stretch. He signed it. Look back. There are some heroes. Gov. Quinn deserves credit for being a cooperative Supporting Actor.

Comment by A guy Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:25 am
- Precinct Captain - Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:16 am:

Yeah, man, I get it. Not sure why you’re trying to convince me of an argument I already said has merit. All I’m saying is let’s not pretend 7th highest is enough like some here are.

Comment by SES Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:30 am
“We’re 7th highest still. Let’s get to the middle of the pack before we declare victory.”

How, exactly, is that a victory?

Look, I’m not pretending to be an expert on worker’s comp and I’ve heard a lot of conflicting details. But I know that judging most things primarily by relative ranking isn’t a good idea. Rather than race to the middle, I’d like us to achieve fair, reasonable reforms that truly protect workers without punishing employers. I frankly don’t care if that leaves us 7th or 47th.

…except, of course, some people don’t care about what’s reasonable and will just shop for the cheapest labor costs they can find.

Comment by Threepwood Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:32 am
== I frankly don’t care if that leaves us 7th or 47th.==

I care, but only because I’d rather Illinois not continue bleeding manufacturing jobs. If that doesn’t bother you, then don’t worry about WC costs.

Comment by SES Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:37 am
Looking forward to Governor Rauner and our DCEO touting this progress to businesses 8n other states.

@SES: Rest assured, if there is an “everything is fine, we’re in great shape” crowd, it is very small around here. Most on this blog have called for continued workers’ comp reforms, and have assumed that is one item that Rauner will get in any trading going on.

Comment by walker Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:39 am
See my comment about people not caring about what’s reasonable. If the argument is that we will bleed jobs if we aren’t at the middle (or lower), I don’t really know how to respond. I think it’s reprehensible, and I don’t know how to easily prevent it. But I can’t understand people embracing it.

Comment by Threepwood Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 11:48 am
The news sounds great. But does it mean does it mean rates will go down? I would certainly hope so. Any news of cost’s dropping is good news for our state. And congratulation’s to the board.

Comment by Mokenavince Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 12:10 pm
IWCC says work comp benefit payments are down 19% but biz says premiums are up, who’s the bogeyman in this equation? Could it be….the insurance industry?

Comment by Closing in on 60 Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 12:21 pm
This report is not surprising and mirrors several previous reports.

Take the FY06 report that was issued following the 7.5 percent increase in benefits for workers that vaulted Illinois from the 23rd highest to the 3rd highest in the U.S.

The FY06 report says “after adjusting for inflation, the 2007 advisory rate for workers’ compensation insurance in Illinois represents a 34% decrease since 1990.”

The FY10 report indicates that “Illinois’ 2008 total injury rate was 60% lower than in 1990.” So, this report shows that we have dropped another 6 percent over the last five years or roughly 1.2 percent annually.

The “19 percent reduction in total benefit payouts” is directly linked to the fact that the number of claims filed dropped from 50,800 to 43,700. Fewer claims equals reduced total benefit payouts.

The Commission simply took previous year reports and updated numbers. Its a shame that they are simply reissuing a report rather than taking a look and using stats from the same time frame (say Sept 2011 to present that is the time the 2011 reform took effect). Showing medical data from 2010-2012 really doesn’t help anyone and is somewhat irrelevant.

Comment by 1776 Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 1:04 pm
The turn around agenda is almost complete. snark

Comment by facts are stubborn things Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 2:39 pm
Brucie, you’re doin’ a heck of a job. Declare victory and move on. Mission accomplished.

Now, onto the budget! Cut every ounce of fat and budgetary pork, raise taxes only when/where no other option is available and in the least amount possible.

Eliminate pension abuse and double-dipping, hold state workers to private employment standards, and get transportation infrastructure (air, road, rail) up to world class standards. Build it and they will come.

That’s why we sent you to Springfield - if you can pull it off everyone will pat you on the back and praise you to no end.

Comment by Kasparov Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 3:06 pm
=Change in Springfield isn’t easy, but we didn’t send Rauner to do what’s easy=
If anyone is checking all of Rauner’s turn around agenda items never needed to be fixed in the first place.

Rauner is creating problems that don’t need to be fixed.

How that for easy?

Phony problems, phony solutions, phony Governor.

Comment by Chicago 20 Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 3:49 pm
Closing in on 60,
The report says premiums are down. Presumably Business thinks it’s not enough but they are down.

Comment by JackD Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 3:51 pm
Too bad Rauner and his gang are immune to good news.

Comment by DuPage Dave Wednesday, Jun 24, 15 @ 7:03 pm
ummm…=ANONYMOUS…I have known Joanne for over twenty years and she has never used anything but her maiden name in her professional life, so you may want to shut up…

Comment by erick Thursday, Jun 25, 15 @ 11:57 am