The big bet gone bad

California's Workers' Compensation insurers made a big bet. They pushed for a system that allowed for nearly automatic denials of claims.

 

One thing they thought would happen, did. Denied claims have increased by 20% over the last five years.

 

But now a new report issued by a leading insurance brokerage and consulting company shows how the "big bet has gone bad."

 

For every 100 denied claims in California, only 18 actually stayed denied. The other 82 denials were reversed.

 

These 82% more than wipe out any money insurers saved on the 18%. In fact, the 82% denied-then-paid claims cost an average of $27,419 while claims that weren't denied cost $16,833.

 

The Big Bet Gone Bad.

Bad for injured workers.

Bad for employers.

Bad for insurers.

When CAAA organized a lunch meeting in Los Angeles for those supporting Gavin Newsom, I was curious and flew down to attend.

 

Because I live in the Bay Area, I followed Gavin when he was San Francisco's Mayor.

 

I figured he'd come with an entourage and a stump speech, work in something about injured workers, chat through dessert and dash on to his next campaign appearance.

 

What happened was nothing I expected.

 

Gavin Newsom showed up alone and on time, gave no speech and he listened a lot more than he talked. He took notes, asked questions and never looked at his watch. He wanted to know everything a Governor could do - using executive power - to

improve the Workers' Compensation system.

 

To the CAAA Members who supported Gavin Newsom, congratulations! We might actually have a real winner.

Reminder: don't forget to join VoterVoice!

 

This new platform will help give our members and supporters a voice at the table to help affect policy change. Please be on the lookout for "Action Alerts" notifying you to contact your representatives and encourage them to take action on legislative and regulatory matters.

 

It's an easy one-stop shop where you enter your home contact information and VoterVoice will automatically pair you up with your designated state and local elected officials. We'll have templated letters where you can easily add a personal note and send off with the click of a button.

 

We'd also love to communicate these alerts with you through text messages, but in order to do so, we need you to opt in. To receive alerts on your mobile phone, please text CAAA to 50457.

 

Thanks, advocates, we look forward to engaging you in our advocacy efforts so keep an eye out for "Action Alerts" very soon!