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Paduda: What Happened While Some of Us Were in Las Vegas: [2021-10-26]
 

The Workers Compensation Research Institute posted lots of excellent research and topped it off with a webinar. I’ll be diving into these later, but for those champing at the bit, here’s a brief summary.

Joe Paduda

Joe Paduda

The research included:

  • A comprehensive analysis of New York’s workers’ comp system.
  • review of the impact of prior recessions on employment and some aspects of workers’ comp.
  • An excellent webinar on the effects of opioid-related policies on opioid utilization after work-related Injuries.

PhRMA appears to be holding off efforts to enable the government to negotiate drug prices for Medicare and Medicaid members. The $22.4 million it spent on lobbying is a pittance compared to the profits the industry is generating.

Three Democrats in states with lots of pharma companies appear to be holding things up, soaking up big bucks in campaign donations in the process.

And then there’s COVID.

New research indicates “natural immunity from a COVID-19 infection fades quickly, leaving individuals susceptible to reinfection.” Published in The Lancet, the study found that a previous COVID infection does not provide much protection against re-infection.

Research published by the Kaiser Family Foundation indicates that 90,000 of our family members, dear friends, colleagues and coworkers didn’t have to die of COVID. That’s the estimated number of additional deaths due to failures to be vaccinated.

Oh, and the number of vaccinated people who died of COVID was tiny by comparison, so don’t believe that B.S. about Colin Powell.

Health systems are ramping up terminations of workers who refuse to get vaccinated, but the number of those fired remains pretty low.

What does this mean for you?

WCRI does great work.

Get vaccinated and wear a mask.

Joseph Paduda is co-owner of CompPharma, a consulting firm focused on improving pharmacy programs in workers’ compensation. This column is republished with his permission from his Managed Care Matters blog.