On May 15, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board (CIRB) has submitted an overall workers' compensation rate decrease of approximately 4.5 percent, which is expected to save New York employers about $400 million in workers' compensation premiums in 2017.
The reduction in premium rates can be attributed to cost savings measures in the 2018 budget, the CIRB said in its rate filing, as well as to general systems savings by the state Workers' Compensation Board.
"The reforms to the Workers' Compensation system in this year's budget will help New York businesses cut costs — enabling them to further reinvest, grow and create more jobs across the state," Cuomo said. "With this rate decrease, New York is providing real savings to businesses helping to make them more competitive while strengthening protections for injured workers at companies across the state."
The next step is for the Department of Financial Services to review and approve the rate submission. If it is approved, the new rates would become effective Oct. 1, 2017.
New York State Senate Majority Leader John J. Flanagan said, "When we were crafting a budget earlier this year, Senate Republicans including Senators Amedore, Akshar, Jacobs and others insisted that meaningful workers' compensation reform be part of those discussions — and we delivered. Today's rate reduction announcement is the start to seeing the fruits of our labor and will save businesses, municipalities, and not-for-profits hundreds of millions of dollars so they can cut their costs, create jobs, grow for the future, and help achieve our goal of making New York more affordable."
Premium rates for workers' compensation are determined annually, and they factor in recent claims experience as well as any new policies and procedures of the Workers' Compensation Board, The governor's announcement also noted that the New York State budget for 2018 specifically addresses cost by applying limits to temporary disability payments prior to a permanency award, while providing an exemption process for the most seriously injured.
Additional workers' comp reforms
Kenneth J. Munnelly, chair of the Workers' Compensation Board, said, "Governor Cuomo and the Legislature have successfully managed to rebalance the workers' compensation system to provide better protections for injured workers and provide much needed relief to New York's businesses."
According to Munnelly, the better protections include:
- Expanding the safety net for seriously injured workers, so more are eligible to apply for reconsideration for lifetime benefits when their benefit caps are set to expire;
- Ensuring injured workers who are out-of-work and not receiving benefits will get a hearing within 45 days;
- Providing relief for first responders exposed to extraordinary stress in emergency situations; and
- Strengthening the administrative tools available to the board in its efforts to provide "swift and appropriate" delivery of benefits to injured workers.
The budget requires the Workers' Compensation Board to publicize new permanent impairment guidelines to reflect advances in modern medicine that result in better outcomes. Additionally, to ensure that injured workers receive high quality, cost-effective medications the board will establish a prescription drug formulary, the announcement explains.
Virtual hearings on the horizon
As part of Cuomo's "business process re-engineering" to improve the workers' comp system in New York State, the board announced that it is close to launching virtual hearings, which are expected to "modernize and virtualize" the board's present hearing environment and allow injured workers to participate in hearings from a location that is most convenient for them, possibly even from home.
In addition, the Workers' Compensation Board is using alternative means to resolve disputes in an attempt to ensure benefits are delivered in a more timely fashion, allowing the board to preserve hearing time for more complex cases with legal disputes.
The inventory of pending workers' compensation appeals and the length of time it takes for those appeals to be resolved has declined, according to the board. More prompt processing of appealed claims makes benefits and treatments available more quickly and lowers litigation costs.
For more information about the proposed new rates, contact the New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board by email at info@nycirb.org or by phone at 212-697-3535.
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