February 2022 Newsletter – MTI America

ClaimsPulse360

ClaimsPulse

February 2022 Newsletter

Issue: February 2022
HealthLink360 Newsletter

Elevate the Adjuster: A Talking Point from ‘Does Our System Do Harm’

Elevate the Adjuster: A Talking Point from ‘Does Our System Do Harm’

Written by: Nikki Jackson, CPCU, ARM, CDMS

Nikki JacksonOn a sunny morning in Florida, we settled into the Palms Ballroom to discuss the workers’ compensation system and how the structure is impacting outcomes. Kimberly George and Mark Walls moderated the industry keynote at WCI, ‘Does Our System Do Harm’. The two employer panelists included Michele Adams, the VP of Risk Management Operations & Casualty Claims at Walmart, and Susan Shemanski, the VP of Corporate Risk Management at Adecco. Other panelists included David Langham, Deputy Chief Judge of Compensation Claims in Pensacola, FL, and Max Koonce, Chief Claims Officer at Sedgwick.

There was a consensus that the current system is filled with complex claims processes and procedures which are negatively impacting the injured or ill workers and the administrators of their claims. Koonz said, 90% of workers’ compensation claims are closed within the first 12 months. The challenge is the bells, whistles, and logistics that cause delays for the remaining 10%.

Michele Adams passionately spoke about the challenges the system has created for giant retailers. She added the importance of looking at the entire system holistically and commented on some of the fragmented processes across the country.

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Benefits of Early Physical Therapy

Benefits of Early Physical Therapy

Life is predictably unpredictable and as much as employers try to prevent them, workplace injuries happen every day.

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Acci-Dental Injury at Work?

Acci-Dental Injury at Work?

Dental injuries account for less than 1% of workplace injuries, and the claims process is just as complex, if not more than a traditional workers’ comp injury claim.

Read More >>


EVENTS

Webinar
February 24, 2022
What did you say? Language Services in Workers’ Comp
Register >>
Webinar
February 25, 2022
Transportation in Workers’ Comp Understanding Cost, Rules, and What the Future Brings
Register >>
Conference
March 16 - 17, 2022
WCRI 2022
Conference
March 10 - 13, 2022
RIMS 2022
Learn More >>
Insurance Jargon: Did You Know?

Over the past few years, the workers’ compensation industry began making simple wording changes to reduce adversarial perceptions. Here are a few examples:

The word claimant often has a negative connotation. A simple wording change for claimant could be employee, injured worker, or the term the employer uses for their employee population (colleague, agent, representative, etc.).   When a claim is reported and an adjuster is investigating compensability, they don’t use the word ‘investigate’ when taking the injured worker’s statement. A simple wording change for investigate could be evaluate, analyze, or determine eligibility Another ugly word is
denial,’ and according to our language services team, this is true in many languages
. A simple wording change for denial could be not eligible for. 

Making these simple wording changes can help reduce adversarial perceptions and avoid attorney representation. If the injured worker has LEP (Limited English Proficiency), it is important to work with a trusted language service provider who understands the importance or these wording changes. At MTI America, we get it. In fact, MTI handled over 6,000 calls with injured workers in our Pompano Beach, Florida office last month. Those connections were made in 85 languages, with Spanish, Creole, Vietnamese, Sign Language, Arabic, Cantonese, and Punjabi being the most requested.

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