A task force studying reform of New York's workers' compensationsystem has recommended that all the state's comp data be put in acentral information bank to analyze, benchmark and improve itsoperation.

The report, which Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo sent toGov. Eliot Spitzer, called for a secure information bank tocorrelate and translate detailed medical and other claim-relatedcosts, as well as measurements of quality of access to care, into acommon language.

According to an announcement yesterday from Mr. Dinallo, thiscould be used to provide policymakers with information necessary tomake proper policy decisions.

The study group that produced the report was the result of thestate's Workers' Compensation Reform Act of March 2007. Thatmeasure, Mr. Dinallo said, has resulted in an estimated savings forNew York businesses of $1 billion this fiscal year.

The report summarizes currently available comp system data, andbenchmarks the system. It notes, for example, that the dataindicate New York has a competitive market for comp coverage, andthat, pre-reform, overall claims were decreasing, but thecost-per-claim was growing significantly.

"As Gov. Spitzer said when he signed the reform act, there canbe no accountability without data," Mr. Dinallo said.

"Implementing the recommendations contained in this Workers'Compensation Reform Task Force report will improve and refineindustry-wide data collection, research and analysis so that we maytrack costs, monitor the system and make appropriate policyjudgments, " he added.

The Task Force has proposed New York's first-ever workers' compmedical treatment guidelines, and recommended measures to slash thetime for resolving disputed cases.

According to Mr. Dinallo's announcement, this shouldsignificantly accelerate the delivery of benefits to injuredworkers.

Other recommendations resulted in a revamped ratemaking process,including a new "loss costs" method of determining premiums thatshould increase ratemaking transparency and price competition inthe New York market.

"Gov. Spitzer noted last March that workers' compensation reformefforts had been hampered by a lack of basic data," Mr. Dinallosaid. "The governor asked for annual data reports beginning thisMarch so that never again will a simple task like calculating thecost of increasing benefits be made difficult because data isunavailable or unusable."

Other Task Force recommendations include creating an independentresearch division at the Workers' Compensation Board (WCB)reporting directly to the WCB chair. This division would use thedata collected both to conduct ongoing research and for specialprojects.

That research, the Task Force recommended, should be guided bythe advice of a research advisory committee, appointed by thegovernor and including representatives of the legislature, stateagencies, labor, business, academia and industry.

The research division should explore the potential of building apartnership with a university in New York, the report said.

The Workers' Compensation Board and the Insurance Departmentwould be able to better collect relevant workers' comp data fromvarious sources if the report's recommendations are implemented,the report said.

The report was prepared by the Insurance Department's Workers'Compensation Reform Task Force, led by Executive Director BruceTopman and Project Coordinator Elizabeth Miller.

The task force met with representatives of the legislature,organized labor, business and other state agencies about variousaspects covered by the report.