As employers work to bring their workers compensation costs under control, drug expenses—particularly those related to narcotic pain medications—continue to be one of the key cost drivers for the workers comp system.
Rising workers comp drug costs—and strategies to address such expenses—will be the focus of a panel discussion at an upcoming Business Insurance virtual conference on workers comp cost control.
Taking part in that discussion—and a subsequent live chat—will be Becky Robinson, assistant vp-risk management for Hobby Lobby Stores Inc.; Julie A. Fortune, senior vp and chief claims officer for Arrowpoint Capital Corp.; Michael J. Shor, managing director of Best Doctors Occupational Health Institute, a part of Best Doctors Inc.; and Dr. Gary M. Franklin, medical director for Washington State Department of Labor and Industries and research professor in the Departments of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Medicine at the University of Washington.
Business Insurance‘s Virtual Advantage 2011, which will be held Sept. 22, is free to attend. The one-day online event will feature speakers and sessions, chats with expert panelists, a virtual exhibit hall, and the opportunity to network with workers compensation colleagues.
Conference keynote speaker Harry Shuford, chief economist for NCCI Holdings Inc., will review the state of the workers comp market nationwide along with trends like the upturn in claims frequency and medical cost inflation, as well as issues like obesity and prescription drug abuse.
Also join Roberto Ceniceros, BI senior editor and author of the award-winning Comp Time blog, who will moderate a panel of leading workers comp bloggers, who will examine key industry trends.
Third-party administrator Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc., a sponsor of Virtual Advantage 2011, also will present at the event.
To learn more and register, visit www.businessinsurance/compcosts.
