UWC Opposes Proposal to pay Unemployment Compensation to Individuals Who Quit for Reasons Not Connected to Work HR 6545 sponsored by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) addresses a long list of issues associated with the Violence Against Women Act. Unfortunately, the bill includes a provision in Section 702 that significantly amends the requirements of state UI [...]
The coalition supporting legislation to improve administration of Medicare with Workers’ Compensation (S 3079) which was introduced in the Senate on June 18th applauds the introduction of the Medicare Secondary Payer and Workers’ Compensation Settlement Agreements Act in the House by Representatives Dave Reichert (R-WA) and Mike Thompson (D-CA) https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/6619?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22HR+6619%22%5D%7D&r=1 . The proposed legislation (HR 6619) [...]
On June 21, 2018 the White House released its “Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century Reform Plan and Reorganization Recommendations” See https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Government-Reform-and-Reorg-Plan.pdf The proposal seeks to organize parts of the federal government with a new alignment designed to eliminate duplication, enhance efficiency and improve service delivery. To be implemented, the proposal would require a comprehensive [...]
On April 19, 2018 the US Department of Labor published the Final rule addressing the determination of minimum and maximum compensation under the Longshore Act. See https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-04-19/pdf/2018-08133.pdf The rule finalizes the Department’s interpretation after receiving comments, including comments from UWC. The USDOL has chosen not to change its interpretation from 2016 in deference to case law. [...]
In a press release the National Alliance of Medicare Set-aside Professionals (NAMSAP) claimed that the policies of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) "Institutionalized Opioid Abuse". "The Medicare Set-Aside program of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “encourages, intensifies and effectively orders long-term opioid use and abuse by Medicare beneficiaries. While the rest [...]
In a letter to the Committee on Ways and Means of the US House of Representatives, UWC requested that the committee take note of state efforts to address opioid overuse among injured employees through a number of initiatives such as evidence-based treatment guidelines, closed formularies and system monitoring. UWC further recommended that the committee consider measures [...]
President Trump's FY 2019 Budget would eliminate workers' compensation reverse offsets and reform the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) Eliminate Workers’ Compensation Reverse Offset The budget proposes the elimination of the Workers’ Compensation Reverse Offset against Social Security, estimating a savings over the ten years ending FY 2028 of $207 million. This proposal has been an [...]
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the collection of data to support an analysis of alternative strategies for UI deficit financing. The issue of UI trust fund solvency is one that UWC and the National Foundation for Unemployment Compensation and Workers’ Compensation has tracked closely over the decades and through multiple recessionary periods. State [...]
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 included new language specifically authorizing grants to states to administer an expanded RESEA program for claimants identified for services through the profiling system. The increased authority was developed through discussions with state workforce agencies, US DOL and UWC. The new program increases the focus of the UI program on integrity [...]
President Trump Signs the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 on February 9, 2018 The Act includes a repeal of language that would have expanded the authority of Medicaid State plans to seek recovery for items and services covered under Medicaid from third party payments even when the third party payments were not related to the items [...]
