Workers’ comp reform efforts are never easy and never passed without controversy. There are simply too many stakeholders and too delicate a balance between the needs of injured workers and their employers who pay the bill for the reform process to satisfy everyone.
Today, however, I had the honor and pleasure to attend Governor Jerry Brown’s signing of SB 863 (DeLeon) and I applaud the Administration and Department of Industrial Relations for their efforts in working with the central stakeholders on this issue – labor and – management to hammer out a balanced, meaningful reform.
If you’ve followed this blog, you know that I have been posting about the need to address underlying cost drivers in the workers’ comp system since the beginning of the year.
While we anticipate reform measures will enable us to recommend a reduction in filed rates, I want to assure our policyholders that we haven’t been waiting for legislative action to help us manage costs. As a vital and necessary provider of workers’ compensation insurance, State Fund has over the past several years begun transforming our operations to become a stronger, more transparent and mission-focused organization. Key to our transformation efforts has been a rigorous focus on disciplined pricing and expense management.
We have developed, and are implementing a strategy that overhauls every aspect of how we do business. Yet, through all of these changes, we remain dedicated to settling claims timely and fairly while managing costs for employers. These efforts, combined with a conservatively managed, high quality investment portfolio, are beginning to pay dividends…literally. Recently State Fund was able to declare a $50 million dividend for our policyholders – the first dividend in more than a decade.
For all of these reasons, we are also in the unique position to quickly pass on to our customers any savings that result from workers’ compensation reform.
We are proud of our multifaceted role of providing workers’ comp insurance, promoting a safe work environment, and delivering effective care and a swift return to life’s pursuits and labors to injured workers.
Tell us what effect you think SB 863 will have on the system.
Related posts:
• State Fund’s Response to California Workers’ Comp Reform Proposal
• The Gathering Storm in California Workers’ Compensation
• The Gathering Storm, part 2 – What Storm?
• The Gathering Storm, part 3
• Gathering Storm, part 4- Medical Care
• The Gathering Storm, part 5: Reform #3 of 3
State Compensation Insurance Fund is not a branch of the State of California.
