Quarterly Newsletter: January 1 - March 31, 2024

Research In Action

National: WCRI's study A Primer on Behavioral Health Care in Workers’ Compensation was cited in a paper, "Mental health comorbidities in workers’ compensation patients and the effect on pain, disability, quality of life, and return to work after lumbar spine surgery," published in the Journal of Neurosurgery.
Delaware: WCRI's study, Trends in the Delaware Workers’ Compensation System, 2016–2021, was mentioned in the Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau's 2022 Annual Report.
Illinois: The Illinois Manufacturers Association sent a letter containing findings from three WCRI studies to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission and asked them to restrict ambulatory surgery centers that are not following the fee schedule.
Indiana: WCRI's provider choice research was cited in a fiscal analysis statement of House Bill 1246, which would permit an employee to choose the attending physician who will provide services and goods resulting from an employment injury or occupational disease.
Louisiana: WCRI CEO Ramona Tanabe was invited to give an introductory presentation on the Institute and the research we have done on the state to the Louisiana House Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations. A recording of the hearing can be viewed here. Ramona’s presentation starts at 1:08:00.
Montana: Joe Paduda gave a webinar presentation to the Montana Self-Insurers Association called "The Flea on the Tail: Outside Factors Influencing Workers’ Compensation." During the webinar, he cited WCRI's vertical integration research.
Pennsylvania: The director of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation mentioned in a meeting that, as a result of the Federated Insurance Company v. Summit Pharmacy case, she relied on WCR’s prescription drug studies to review how prescription drug payment disputes are resolved across states.

Studies Published

Member Spotlight

In this WCRI Member Spotlight, we talk with Marianne Saylor, the director of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (PBWC), a longstanding member of WCRI. The PBWC serves as the administrative hub of Pennsylvania's workers’ compensation system. Watch Now

Recorded Webinars

In this 30-minute webinar held on Jan. 11, WCRI Senior Research Analyst Dr. Rebecca Yang shared findings from Time to First Medical Service—A WCRI FlashReport, which provides insights for the understanding of access to medical care by workers with injuries. Watch Now

Successful Conference

We are grateful to all of the speakers and attendees who helped make our annual conference a huge success! We sincerely hope that everyone who attended had fun networking with our varied audience, learning about our most recent research, and listening to our esteemed panelists and keynote speakers. Read More