On Monday, March 10, Risk Manager Larry Krause was a presenter on a stakeholder panel at the Illinois Workers’ Comp Forum in Lombard, Illinois.
The panel was moderated by Jeff Redick, an attorney with the law firm Power and Cronin from Elmhurst. Other panel members were Joan Vincenz, the Managing Director for Workers’ Compensation and Managed Care at United Airlines, Dr. Preston Wolin, an orthopedic surgeon and Director and Founder of the Center for Athletic Medicine in Chicago, and David Menchetti, a petitioners attorney from the firm Cullen, Haskins, Nicholson & Menchetti in Chicago.
The focus for the panel was to assess the impact of Illinois Workers’ Compensation reforms enacted in 2011, including utilization review changes, implementation of workers’ compensation preferred provider programs, usage of the American Medical Association Guides to Permanent Impairment with regard to permanent partial disability, and whether costs have been reduced as a result of the amendments.
Despite a challenging year in calendar year 2013, with several employees undergoing surgery and some even requiring multiple surgeries, the City’s incurred medical expenses for 2013 are below that for calendar year 2011. In 2011, medical costs were $649,707, while 2013 costs were $614,925.
Following the presentation, Michael Latz, chairman of the Workers’ Compensation Commission, approached Larry Krause and commented that he always enjoyed hearing him speak and complimented his ability to speak clearly on the issues.