At a Business Council meeting on March 23, Governor
Pataki announced proposed changes to the Workers' Compensation system
that "strikes a balance between controlling costs…with
the needs of workers." However, while depicting his Workers'
Compensation reforms as beneficial to businesses and workers, Pataki's
proposals are actually part of a well thought-out strategy pushed
by insurers and employers to find more ways to cut benefits, to
restrict eligibility to exclude all but the most obviously injured
workers, to discourage all workers from filing claims, and to eliminate
the involvement of claimants' attorneys.
His new proposals follow on the heels of his landmark 1996 Workers'
Compensation Reform Act which succeeded in reducing costs to businesses
by 30% at the expense of injured workers who, faced with new obstacles
to proving their injury claims, and inadequate benefits and medical
treatment, were increasingly forced into poverty and deteriorating
health.
Pataki proposes to increase benefits for the "truly injured"
Another destructive result of Pataki's 1996 act was to stigmatize
and intimidate injured workers by promoting in the public the
image of injured workers as frauds, cheats and malingerers, despite
the fact that studies show claimant fraud to be less than 2% of
Workers' Compensation dollars spent. This campaign has distracted
policymakers, enforcement agencies, and the public from growing
evidence of the real problem of employer and provider fraud. And,
it has discouraged workers who qualify for Workers' Compensation
from applying-75% according to one study.
While his current proposal is composed of multiple ways to further
reduce costs to employers by 15%, his claims to protect injured
workers are dangerously misleading and vague. In addition, his
focus on reducing costs to employers ignores the rising costs
to injured workers and taxpayers who are subsidizing Workers'
Compensation insurers that delay or deny benefits. Such delays
force many injured workers to apply for public assistance. According
to one study in 2000, injured workers bear 44% of their injury
costs and taxpayers bear $28.5 billion through support of Medicare,
Medicaid and Social Security.
As a drastic cost-cutting measure, Governor Pataki proposes to
restrict to less than 10 years the lifetime benefits that workers
with permanent partial disabilities now receive. This will penalize
many workers who are in fact totally disabled but who end up accepting
negotiated benefits as permanently partially disabled after suffering
years of destitution or worsening health caused by the lack of
medical treatment or by returning to work in pain just to survive.
The Governor states that he will raise the maximum benefit rate
from $400 to $500 in 2007. However, he fails to mention that this
increase will affect only 3% of injured workers whose awards are
based on permanent total disabilities. As for the other 97% who
have different classifications, Pataki aims to reduce or eliminate
their benefits through a "tiered" benefits system.
"Tiering" benefit levels in accordance with the severity
of the disability will save money for businesses and insurance
companies, but will deprive injured workers of benefits. In 1991
Texas adopted the American Medical Association (AMA) guides for
rating disabilities along with a tiered benefits system. By 1993
only 2% of all injured workers in Texas qualified for the second
level of benefits.
Providing the "freedom to negotiate benefits and case
resolutions" to the disadvantage of workers
Governor Pataki proposes to expand the Alternative Dispute Resolution
program (which currently only applies to the construction industry)
to include the unionized manufacturing sector. In addition, he
plans to authorize the Workers' Compensation Board to initiate
a pilot program "designating a geographic location or employer
to process undisputed claims separate of board intervention."
Both of these programs take the injured worker further away from
the process of having formal hearings, appeals, and attorney representation
within the Workers Compensation system. Without provisions to
protect injured workers, these informal procedures could result
in lower benefits for injured workers.
Businesses back Pataki's proposals and the Libous' bill
Governor Pataki announced his Workers' Compensation reforms before
the Business Council, which has also affirmed its strong support
of the Libous bill. Senator Libous proposes the use of the AMA
guides in an attempt to make it more difficult for injured workers
to be classified with a permanent partial disability. He also
proposes to limit benefits to 500 weeks for those who are classified
as permanently partially disabled. In addition, Libous provides
for Social Security and pension offsets which would reduce Workers'
Compensation benefits when workers received Social Security and/or
pension benefits, further penalizing injured workers in their
older age.
Pataki ignores the concerns of injured workers
As Governor Pataki continues to put the emphasis on fraud and
reducing employer costs, he distracts the public and lawmakers
from the real causes of worker injuries and Workers' Compensations
costs--workplace hazards and safety violations. Employers who
reduce wages, demand more production, and threaten job security
are forcing more and more people to work longer hours--which is
leading to more workplace injuries.
Not even for the most seriously injured does the Workers' Compensation
system work fairly. None of Governor Pataki's proposed reforms
addresses the inequities of the Workers' Compensation system.
While injured workers suffer in povery, Pataki continues to ignore
their calls for fair and humane treatment. Instead, he whittles
away at the Workers' Compensation system, cooperating with insurers
and employers to ensure their profitability at the expense of
all working people.
It's about time that policy makers address the real issues of
injured workers with reform proposals that reflect the concerns
of working people of this state.
NMASS Home | RELATED: The
"It's About TIME!" Campaign | Press
Release: "Injured Workers Call on NY Sentate GOP -- Oppose
Pataki's Workers' Comp Proposals"
