Slide presentation of paper written for an elective course on the PPACA as part of my MHA degree.

1. PPACA:
THE END OF WORKERS’
COMPENSATION?
Richard Krasner
HSA 6930
August 7, 2011

2. INTRODUCTION
 Triangle Shirtwaist Co. fire – March 25, 1911
 Memorial service held in NYC on
March, 25, 2011
 Workers’ Compensation industry began as result
of tragedy and acquittal of company owners
 PPACA signed within days of ninety-ninth
anniversary of fire
 Attempts to merge WC into health care prior to
PPACA

3. IMPACT OF PPACA ON WORKERS’ COMP
 Direct, Indirect & Speculative impacts – No
consensus
 Direct impacts
 Revisions to the Black Lung program
 New taxes on pharmaceutical & medical devices manufacturers
 Changes in Medicare reimbursement levels would have cost
impact on states that use Medicare for reimbursement in WC fee
schedules

4. INDIRECT IMPACTS
 Black Lung program revisions
 Coordination and Subrogation of Benefits
 Expansion of Medicaid coverage, adding between 15 & 20 million
people to Medicaid
 Expanded Medicare Part D
 Pilot Projects that involve evidence-based protocols to be used in
WC

5. INDIRECT IMPACTS, CONT.
 Access to providers with more people having
insurance
 Elimination of “donut” hole may increase prices of
drugs
 Short supply and patient backlog of PCP in rural &
poverty stricken areas
 Improve or damage the national economy
 Federalization of workers’ compensation

6. SPECULATIVE IMPACTS
 Slight reduction in claims frequency rates
because workers will have access to health
insurance
 More workers will be healthier because of
greater access to care if they can reduce or
lessen impact of obesity, smoking, depression &
drug use
 Pilot projects to create better models for
managing the coordination & delivery of medical
care
 Impact on national economy

7. CONCLUSION
 Thomas Eaton
 “the PPACA will have little direct or immediate effect on state
workers’ compensation systems. However, there is potential for
considerable indirect affects, especially with regard to record
keeping, coordination of benefits, and other details of administration.
The actual impact…is difficult to predict. Some of the potential
indirect effects may increase costs while others may moderate or
even decrease costs.”

8. REFERENCES
 Eaton, T.A., The Impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 On State Workers’
Compensation Systems. Presentations and Speeches. Paper 28. Retrieved from
http://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/fac_presp/28
 Harrison, D.M., (2010). Health Care Reform and Workers’ Compensation, Alabama Employment Law
Letter. Retrieved from http://www.hrhero.com/hl/articles/2010/04/22/health-care-reform-and-workers-
compensation
 Krohm, G., (2011). What Will Federal Health Care Reform Mean For Workers’ Compensation in the
U.S.? Retrieved from http://www.iaiabc.org/i4a/headlines/headlinedetails.cfm?id=156
 National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc., (2010). National Health Care Law: Implications for
Workers’ Compensation Insurance. Retrieved from
https://www.ncci.com/documents/NationalHealthandWC.pdf
 New York State Workers’ Compensation Law, Article 2, Section 13 (d) (1).
 Wikipedia, Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire