WCRI Report on North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Sets Off Firestorm in Blogosphere
Last week, the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) released a study that found that North Carolina workers’ compensation costs were the highest per claim among 16 states. The WCRI report offers sobering news… but can it really be trusted?
Not according to the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ). CEO Dick Taylor put out a scathing statement about the WCRI report, calling it “an unfortunate example of insurance companies and corporations seeking government subsidies by shifting their expenses to tax payers… WCRI is funded by insurances and big corporations and routinely issues reports that support “reforms” that would increase their contributors’ profits.”
The NCAJ rebuttal says that the WCRI charge about payment per claims being too high in NC just doesn’t hold water. North Carolina workers’ compensation “doesn’t cover many injuries sustained in normal work routine. North Carolina has fewer claims… and they are far more severe injuries. Naturally, our average payment per claim is higher.”
The NCAJ rebuttal also points out that the North Carolina workers’ compensation system tends to deliver good value per dollar spent… and at a relatively low cost to employers. NCAJ officials worry that corporate and insurance company interests may be tempted to leverage this WCRI study to slice into benefits for hurt workers. Indeed, business advocates are currently lobbying the North Carolina General Assembly to cut off workers’ comp benefits after 500 weeks. Such a proposal may not be popular – even with conservatives. According to an October poll conducted by Public Policy Polling (PPP), the idea of cutting off workers’ comp for hurt workers after 500 weeks is opposed by more than three quarters of liberals and 60% of conservatives.
The fracas over the WCRI report and the NCAJ counterclaims also illustrates a major problem when it comes to formulating public policy. Given enough “torturing” of any data, it can be pretty easy to support your point and/or refute your opponent’s point. For instance, the conclusions you draw may depend on how you look at trends. So it’s incredibly important that policymakers look to multiple perspectives before doing things like enacting major changes to legislation or cutting off benefits to large groups of people.
If someone you care about has been struggling with benefits, a North Carolina workers’ compensation law firm can be a tremendous ally in your battle to get fair payments and hold your employer and that employer’s insurer totally accountable.
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