In other words, an extra medical dollar spent early might be the most cost-effective dollar an employer could spend. Just as with employee benefits health care, true managed care in workers compensation should be less reactive and more about behavior modification. While costs have declined recently, the existing system is still rife with negative incentives that encourage legal involvement, medical cost shifting and employee malingering. In short, employers are driven to adopt a punitive approach to the system as a whole. True managed care is not about fee schedules or utilization timetables.
American businesses are quick to adopt the latest management initiatives.
But, business managers need to be discriminating when they hear the term managed care, whether it is applied to employee health plans or workers compensation. When evaluating managed care workers compensation programs for your clients, look for an organization that puts patient care over market share and the need for investment income. Managing the human event and the quality of care is key to returning employees to good health and back to work. James M. Walter is founder, president and chief executive officer of ManagedComp, a Waltham, Massachusetts-based national provider of workers compensation managed care services and insurance programs. Because these methods stress administrative decisions, as opposed to medical management, insurers and administrators manage claims with adjusters rather than medical professionals.