Worker comp system to try phone reporting of injuries

Wednesday, Sept. 2, 1998 | 11:23 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A new wrinkle may be in the offing for the 45,000 businesses enrolled with Employers Insurance Co. of Nevada.

It would mean less paperwork for employers and quicker handling of claims from workers injured on the job.

The company, formerly called the State Industrial Insurance System, has asked for bids from private firms to run a 24-hour telephone service for employers to call when one of their workers is hurt.

"One problem we have now is the long lag between the injury and the reporting of the injury," says Douglas Dirks, chief executive officer of the quasi-state company. "Even if everybody is compliance with the law, it can take up to two weeks."

The worker injured on the job is treated but then may sit home waiting for the claims management process to start working. "There's frustration on the part of the worker who has no contact for two weeks."

Last fiscal year, there were 49,217 claims filed with the company for workers hurt on the job.

Until 1997, it was illegal to handle these first reports of injury by telephone or other electronic means. But the law was changed. Dirks said employers can now notify the company by fax or by the Internet.

"The concern historically has been there is some potential for fraud," Dirks said. "But the benefits far outweigh the risks. We can do some things that discourage this fraud."

While this may be new to Nevada, it is fairly standard practice in the insurance industry, he said.

Employers Insurance is getting ready for a wide open market starting in July 1999, when private companies will be able to compete in the worker compensation policies.

Dirks said EIC ran a pilot program for the telephone reporting system. Its target is to have 85 percent of the claims reported within 24 hours.

EIC is also out to bid for medical services for the injured workers. At present Horizon in Las Vegas is the managed care company that handles cases in Southern Nevada and some rural counties. St. Mary's is the provider for Northern Nevada. Their contracts expire at the end of the year.

The deadline for submitting bids for the medical and other contracts was Monday. Dirks said there were eight bids but the number of qualified bidders won't be known until later this week.

A decision will be made by Sept. 28 on which companies to award contracts to and for what services. For instance, there are some companies that only specialize in 24-hour telephone claims service. Others will want to provide managed care only.