The battle for workers’ compensation “reform” in Illinois was touted as necessary to help employers, by cutting down their costs in covering the injuries of their workers. Some significant changes were ultimately put in place—changes which are potentially harmful to workers, but were supposed to help the bottom line of businesses by reducing the costs of paying for workers’ compensation insurance.
The Workers’ Compensation Act amendments included, among other things, a reduction by 30% of the fees that would be paid to medical providers; more rigid standards for getting paid for some injuries; and decreases and caps on some types of benefits. These changes to the law were fought for by employers and insurance companies, and passed at the expense of injured workers’ rights and financial benefits.
But now, with the new legislation in place, you would likely expect to have seen employers beginning to reap the rewards of their supposed cost savings. Instead, however, they are about to discover that they may have won the battle, but the war remains to be determined. The reason for this, is that the insurance companies, after all the “reform” measures have been put in place, may be raising the rates on workers’ compensation insurance costs anyway.
It is a puzzling situation, that costs could possibly be raised at this point in time. The insurance companies have not even had a chance to meaningfully experience the results of the changes in the law, and assess what the actual financial impact will be. It was expected that after these measures were put in place, there would be less to payout in claims: there would be less money paid per claim in the fee schedule reduction and other limitations on benefits, and less claims made overall because of other new restrictions.
Yet the insurers do not appear to be ready to pass that savings on to help Illinois businesses by lowering their insurance rates. They are not necessarily willing to concede that they will see actual cost savings as a result of the changes, so they instead are going ahead with a plan to raise workers’ compensation insurance rates for businesses.
The Illinois workers’ compensation “reform” does not seem likely to have the desired effect of help Illinois employers, and helping to keep jobs in the state. Illinois has lost a large chunk of manufacturing jobs over the last decade, for example, and this new legislation is not likely to have an impact to help turn that trend around. All the talk of the changes being pro-business and anti-worker…it seems that in the end they may be just pro-insurance at everyone else’s expense.
We are workers’ compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys. Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.
