Utilization Review

CA DWC's UR Audits: A Keyhole View of a Statewide Crisis

As early as 2016, California legislators recognized the potential for payers to abuse Utilization Review (UR), the process by which payers decide whether to deny or approve t...

CA Employers: Who Profits When the CA DWC Ignores the Law?

It's time to confront a fundamental problem with California's workers' compensation system.California employers are paying higher workers' comp premiums, even as rates...

CA DIR to Blow $1.25M On (Another) Questionable Comp Study

The California Division of Workers’ Compensation (CA DWC) is set to waste $1,250,000 in taxpayer dollars on a faulty “study” of non-existent data.The Department of Ins...

Labor: “Predatory” Sedgwick Is “a Menace to Workers”

Labor representatives are finally saying it out loud: Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc. is a “menace” to injured workers.Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 isn’t...

CO: DOWC Seeks Feedback on New Workers' Comp Law

Colorado’s Division of Workers’ Compensation (DOWC) will hold live “Listening Sessions” to discuss how to implement House Bill 25-1300.HB 25-1300 radically shifts the ...

CO: New Law Empowers Injured Workers & Doctors

Colorado is taking a sledgehammer to payer control over injured workers’ care. Governor Jared Polis signed House Bill 25-1300 into law in June. Starting in 2028...

Zurich: Vague Authorization Creates More Treatment Friction

Insurer Zurich North America offered a classic example of the bureaucratic absurdity that plagues California’s treatment authorization process, issuing a baffling, time-bound...

CA: Business Insider Falls for Insurer Propaganda

Business Insider published a cringy slop of insurer talking points, uncritically parroting insurers’ preferred narrative about the coming increase...

DWC Data: Texas Delivers, California Dodges

The Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation (TX DWC) and the California Division of Workers’ Compensation (CA DWC) each hold a sacred public trust to oversee the treatment of...

Sedgwick’s New Website: Shaky Stats Tout Provider Exploitation

Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc. has a new website. True to brand, the new site makes one thing abundantly clear: marketing provider abuse is easier th...

Report: CA DIR Director Hagen Resigning

According to Workers’ Comp Executive, California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) Director Katrina Hagen is stepping down after five years. The Californ...

Workers’ Comp Has a Serious Data Problem

Anyone who’s been hurt at work (or treated an injured worker) knows that the workers' comp system is in crisis. To fix it, stakeholders need reliable, verifiable data—but tha...