Forecast: WC Insurers To Get More Gov't Slack

Mr. Oxfeld foresaw effects concerning such topics as committee action, medical privacy, worker safety legislation, genetic testing and asbestos.

On the privacy law front, Mr. Oxfeld said the association was disappointed that the final U.S. Department of Health and Human Service interpretation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act failed to carve out workers' compensation.

With the shift in Congress, he said, the association expects officials will have more freedom to improve the HIPPAA Privacy Rule.

The group also looks forward to "less adverse congressional intervention" in the form of distracting committee hearings. Some committees, he said, "have been known to go on fishing expeditions designed to embarrass the administration.

In Mr. Oxfeld's evaluation, the change in control should mean that the mandate for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue an ergonomics standard, while not a dead issue, will be much harder to sell.

On another safety issue, Mr. Oxfeld said that the chances look better for passage of a TEAM act, which would permit employers to set up committees of workers to consult about plant safety without going through the collective bargaining process.

Legislation that may have a tougher time, according to Mr. Oxfeld, involves proposals concerning genetic discrimination. The concern for workers' comp, he said, is that some measures would restrict routine cholesterol, urine and blood work that is routine to diagnose many health conditions.

In addition, where a health problem was a genetic condition and not caused by work, that information would not be allowed in a workers' comp claim, he said.

The association, Mr. Oxfeld said, is also hoping it will get help fixing Medicare secondary payer procedures for workers' comp. He said Medicare has been aggressive against paying claims that have a Medicare share involved involving older workers.

"Medicare approval has been tying the comp system in knots. They take forever to look over a claim and Medicare regions are inconsistent [in their rulings]," he said.

Mr. Oxfeld said the association expects the Bush Administration will resolve the problem, but it may require legislation.

He said that the shift in power could have a positive effect on tort reform and asbestos liability reform, which could impact workers' compensation subrogation rights.

Finally, he cautioned that employers should stay alert to what goes on in Washington because members of Congress can continue to raise issues with executive agencies.