07-27-2007, 12:42 AM
Hi all...I have decided to start this new thread to initiate an opportunity for everyone to list what they believe are the major issues surrounding the WC system. I will start with just a few that I have noticed here on this board.
1. W/C IC's are slow in approving recommended healthcare treatment programs often resulting in other agravating injuries which the IW is forced to fight for.
2. W/C IC case managers are not advocates for their customers (IW), they are not fulfulling the true role of what a Case Manager is defined as. They do not manage the health care of the IW, they manage the funds of the IC.
3. An IW is forced to hire an attorney because the W/C IC does not correspond with the IW to explain all their rights.
4. Employers do not explain the W/C Benefits to their employees as part of their annual education programs.
5. When a IW is determined to have reached MMI by the WC IC doctor, the W/C IC drops the case without explaining long term benefits that are prescribed by the individual states. They force the IW to hire an attorney to assist them to take them to court to get what is rightfully their to begin with.
6. There does not appear to be a regulatory body that governs and oversees the functions of the W/C IC in each state. They are not audited and therefore are not concerned about the decisions they make until they are forced into court. (This is something that I feel needs a lot of research to understand better).
This is just a few. I am sure that their are many more. I am a little tired so I may not have written them well and may want to rewrite for better understanding tomorrow.
If you have additional concerns, please add them to this thread. After we have collected a number of concerns or issues, I would like for all of us to make a decision on the top five issues. From there we will organize a team of 4 - 5 people working on each of the five topics. These teams would research and try to find as much information as possible about their specific issue.
Any one who is interested in being on a team to do research on a topic, please identify yourself in this thread as well. We could use help from all of you. You are what this is all about. All of us on here have had some experience with the W/C IC that is difficult to understand how it can happen. We all have feelings from sadness, hurtfulness, anger, and many more. Through all these emotions, we have developed thoughts about what we think and how we feel about W/C. We know what has hurt us the most.
This is just the beginning of attempting to obtain a thorough understanding of what W/C IC has meant to you in your life. We all need to have a good understanding so that we all can begin to collect information to share to the American Public. They need to know this.
For instance, right now there is a lot on the television about animal fighting. Is this new? I have known about this activity since I was a child. Did I agree with it, no, but did I do anything about it? I didn't know how to do any thing about it. However, omeone did and now everyone is outraged. The American Public does not know that they are not protected by the W/C IC as they believe. They do not know the games W/C plays and how they treat the IW. They do not know if you get hurt at work and your W/C IC deny's you, your other health care insurance may not pay for the injury. They do not know that many people lose their homes or their cars and file bankruptsy just because the don't get the care in a timely manner so that they can go back to work. They do not know that if they get hurt at work, no one will stand up for them, their employer, co-worker, etc. They do not know that when you get hurt, you are in so much pain waiting for the treatment to be approved. And even during this period the IC may not approve the pain medication prescriptions. They do not know that you may get hurt so bad that your whole life is turned upside down, that you may have to apply for SSDI to survive while you are hurting and grieving the lost of life you had prior to the accident.
The American Public feels that they are protected when they are at work. They do not know that they are not. We have a responsibility to share our stories and to prevent this from happening to anyone else. Ok...off my soap box...
Just give me a few ideas of your issues, and if you are willing to participate in a team on a subject. After we collect the information we will plan from there. Any ideas that may be better on how to do this is very much welcome. I am in unknown land on this..so I need as much help as possible...Carol (red)
1. W/C IC's are slow in approving recommended healthcare treatment programs often resulting in other agravating injuries which the IW is forced to fight for.
2. W/C IC case managers are not advocates for their customers (IW), they are not fulfulling the true role of what a Case Manager is defined as. They do not manage the health care of the IW, they manage the funds of the IC.
3. An IW is forced to hire an attorney because the W/C IC does not correspond with the IW to explain all their rights.
4. Employers do not explain the W/C Benefits to their employees as part of their annual education programs.
5. When a IW is determined to have reached MMI by the WC IC doctor, the W/C IC drops the case without explaining long term benefits that are prescribed by the individual states. They force the IW to hire an attorney to assist them to take them to court to get what is rightfully their to begin with.
6. There does not appear to be a regulatory body that governs and oversees the functions of the W/C IC in each state. They are not audited and therefore are not concerned about the decisions they make until they are forced into court. (This is something that I feel needs a lot of research to understand better).
This is just a few. I am sure that their are many more. I am a little tired so I may not have written them well and may want to rewrite for better understanding tomorrow.
If you have additional concerns, please add them to this thread. After we have collected a number of concerns or issues, I would like for all of us to make a decision on the top five issues. From there we will organize a team of 4 - 5 people working on each of the five topics. These teams would research and try to find as much information as possible about their specific issue.
Any one who is interested in being on a team to do research on a topic, please identify yourself in this thread as well. We could use help from all of you. You are what this is all about. All of us on here have had some experience with the W/C IC that is difficult to understand how it can happen. We all have feelings from sadness, hurtfulness, anger, and many more. Through all these emotions, we have developed thoughts about what we think and how we feel about W/C. We know what has hurt us the most.
This is just the beginning of attempting to obtain a thorough understanding of what W/C IC has meant to you in your life. We all need to have a good understanding so that we all can begin to collect information to share to the American Public. They need to know this.
For instance, right now there is a lot on the television about animal fighting. Is this new? I have known about this activity since I was a child. Did I agree with it, no, but did I do anything about it? I didn't know how to do any thing about it. However, omeone did and now everyone is outraged. The American Public does not know that they are not protected by the W/C IC as they believe. They do not know the games W/C plays and how they treat the IW. They do not know if you get hurt at work and your W/C IC deny's you, your other health care insurance may not pay for the injury. They do not know that many people lose their homes or their cars and file bankruptsy just because the don't get the care in a timely manner so that they can go back to work. They do not know that if they get hurt at work, no one will stand up for them, their employer, co-worker, etc. They do not know that when you get hurt, you are in so much pain waiting for the treatment to be approved. And even during this period the IC may not approve the pain medication prescriptions. They do not know that you may get hurt so bad that your whole life is turned upside down, that you may have to apply for SSDI to survive while you are hurting and grieving the lost of life you had prior to the accident.
The American Public feels that they are protected when they are at work. They do not know that they are not. We have a responsibility to share our stories and to prevent this from happening to anyone else. Ok...off my soap box...
Just give me a few ideas of your issues, and if you are willing to participate in a team on a subject. After we collect the information we will plan from there. Any ideas that may be better on how to do this is very much welcome. I am in unknown land on this..so I need as much help as possible...Carol (red)
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.