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Industry Insights

Paduda: 2022 Predictions for Workers' Comp, Part 2

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Last week, the first five predictions about what happens in workers’ comp this year went up. Today, the second five.

Joe Paduda

Joe Paduda

With one or two exceptions, don’t expect much in the way of private equity investments

There may be one or two large transactions and a couple of small ones, but outside of that, the bloom on the workers’ comp rose appears to be fading.

OneCall will be sold and/or split up

The BlackRock and KKR entities that are the current owners are not operators; they are debt owners. CEO Tom Warsop has squeezed out all the squeezable costs, and then some. Growth — defined as new business from new customers — is not happening. Add the overall drag on work comp services from the still-real drop-off in claims and claims services, and the reasons to hold on and hope are few indeed.

Plus, if interest rates increase — which is a distinct possibility — and if private equity interest in workers’ comp continues to diminish from its current modest level (also a distinct possibility), OCCM’s owners may well decide to sell soon rather than watch values decline.

COVID’s impact on costs and rates will prove to be minimal

COVID claims are cheap; few are anywhere close to catastrophic cost levels; the effect of presumption laws and regulations is not much of an effect at all; and many employers — especially health systems — are forcing employees to use PTOs rather than file for WC when they test positive/have symptoms.

Most research organizations and actuaries would do well to reflect how their early predictions were so bad.

Two places to start: a) the tendency for WC “experts” to catastrophize, and b) the almost complete lack of understanding of health care drivers, costs, cost structures, reimbursement and epidemiology.

There will be no big issues in workers’ comp. “Big” is defined as important, needle-moving, disruptive, revolutionary

No, medical marijuana is NOT a big issue. Neither is COVID or presumptions or the mid-term elections (there is ZERO interest in workers’ comp on the federal level) or remote work (does anyone seriously believe office workers tripping over toys will amount to any real dollars?).

Oh, and with rates at all-time lows, frequency continuing to drop and medical costs (with the exception of physical therapy and facilities) flat, coupled with ongoing supply chain and labor market issues, execs at big employers are (justifiably) completely uninterested in workers’ comp.

If the big girls and boys don’t see any issues, there aren’t any.

Here’s the kicker: The biggest long-term concern for workers’ comp is global warming, yet this is getting zero attention

There’s going to be an inevitable increase in issues related to heat, flooding, fires, drought, tornadoes and hurricanes. This is getting more real every day yet remains all-but-ignored by pundits, policymakers  and ratemakers. We can expect more heat-related claims. Hurricanes, fires and tornadoes will increase in number and severity, affecting logistics, labor, construction and claims. The research is clear.

What does this mean for you?

As always, success favors the insightful, and failure plagues the ignorant.

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.

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