By John Stahl, Esq. The near certainty that provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a.k.a. Obamacare, will contribute to the increasing tendency to prescribe workers’ compensation claimants opioids prompted Risk & Insurance to conduct... Read More

The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare authorized the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to study issues related to chronic pain. One reason for this effort was that chronic pain issues annually cost the workers’ compensation... Read More

By John Stahl, Esq. Uncertainty regarding how the U.S. Supreme Court deciding that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was constitutional would impact workers’ compensation systems makes this a good time to review an expert’s... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. - (Mealey's) In a sweeping opinion covering four issues addressed over three days of oral argument, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 28 found that the Anti-Injunction Act (AIA) does not bar challenges to the Patient Protection and Affordable... Read More

Assuming that Obamacare isn't grievously wounded by Congressional de-funding and that a Romney win in the election doesn't result in repeal of the law, what effect will it have on workers' comp? I've already received several client e... Read More

By John Stahl, Esq. The U.S. Supreme Court announcing its decision that the Affordable Care Act, also known as ACA and Obamacare, was constitutional was a “where were you” moment in American history. Key quotes from the majority and dissent... Read More

NCCI Suggests Younger and Older Employees’ Claims Are Comparable By John Stahl, Esq. Recent research by the National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc., (NCCI) questions the belief that the aging American workforce is at the eye of the... Read More

By John Stahl, Esq. The fact that the primary provisions of the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, become effective in January 2014 precludes accurately concluding whether those reforms will reduce increasingly burdensome workers’ compensation... Read More

By John Stahl, Esq. The article “Guidance for a Reasonably Designed, Employer-Sponsored Wellness Program Using Outcomes-Based Incentives” in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine demonstrates how employer-sponsored outcomes... Read More

It’s time to look back on the past year’s top cases to help us identify possible national trends. While many of these cases are state decisions, there are far reaching implications to be found in each of them. Here’s our selection for... Read More

Sign up here for our free workers' compensation enewsletters (National or California Edition) to receive weekly news items. Be sure to select the enewsletter of your choice. NATIONAL: IAIABC Drafts Model Legislation on Opioid Use . US DOL... Read More

Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) Executive Director Richard Victor, Ph.D. of Cambridge, Massachusetts stated in his presentation “Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Workers’ Compensation” during WCRI’s 2014... Read More

The statement of economist Jonathan Gruber, Ph.D. , of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts that a three-year news blackout regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would have had merit was arguably the most memorable moment... Read More

Practical Guidance on Administering ObamaCare and Other Health Plans The acronym “ACA” has now joined the acronym “ADA” in the panoply of regulations with which companies must comply. As with any new and unfamiliar system, some... Read More

Sign up here for our free workers' compensation enewsletters (National or California Edition) to receive weekly news items. Be sure to select the enewsletter of your choice. NATIONAL: NCCI: Claim Frequency Declined One Percent in 2011 . Forbes... Read More