It’s not perfect, but workers’ comp system does work
TO THE EDITOR:
I enjoy NH Business Review and appreciate the effort put in by all your staff to bring relevant news and info to New Hampshire residents and business professionals.
As a 20-year veteran of the insurance industry, my interest was piqued when I saw the headline, “Skip this article if you’re happy with workers’ comp” (April 22-May NH Business Review). I was interested to hear what aspects of workers’ comp employees and employers were up in arms over.
I then proceeded to read an
article where each consecutive paragraph cast broad, vague and
uncorroborated aspersions about an entire industry and system while not
providing supporting evidence or any concrete solutions for the
“problems” facing said system.
It’s
been my experience that while the workers’ comp system is not perfect,
in general it operates fairly well. The vast majority of feedback from
insureds/employers and injured employees is that the system worked as it
should have. In fact, it’s so geared toward erring on the side of
caution when dealing with injured employees that benefits are sometimes
paid and medical care provided to individuals whose injuries were likely
not sustained at work.
That,
to me, is a broad indicator that this system is geared toward the
primary business of making injured employees well, not taking advantage
of or victimizing them. Overall, injured employees are being treated,
their lost wages paid and they are returning to work. Workers’
comp rates have steadily declined over at least the last five years, if
not more, reducing costs for employers and reflecting the reality of
lower loss costs and safer work environments for employees.
For
example, the state of New Hampshire loss cost for interior carpentry,
class code 5437 has dropped from 6.29 in 2018 to 4.64 in 2022. Frankly,
it’s a pretty great thing that injured employees are so valued and taken
care of the way they are by our culture/system. I believe the bias of
the article is very much in step with the “system isn’t perfect, so it
must be broken and in need of reform or tearing down” type of thinking
we’re seeing in many places these days.
The article contains many statements like the following:
“The
U.S. Department of Labor has said that a lack of trust in the system
represents a fundamental threat to the long-term viability of workers’
comp programs in general. The Workers
Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) also identified “trust in the
workplace” as potentially playing a critical role in both medical and
return-towork outcomes.”
It’s
data-less, opinionated statements like these that are used to
perpetuate a feeling or emotion in the absence of real facts, research
and, frankly, real journalism. I have no problem with opinion pieces. In
fact, they’re necessary to create thought, discussion, etc. However,
flowery wording and fact-less opinion statements only amount to one
individual’s hobby rant, with no corroborating info.
JOE CZARNECKI
CONTOOCOOK
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