Claims administrators are reminded that the Annual Report of Inventory (ARI) must be submitted in early 2022 for claims reported in calendar year 2021.

The California Code of Regulations, title 8, Section 10104 requires claims administrators to file, by April 1 of each year, an ARI with the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) indicating the number of claims reported at each adjusting location for the preceding calendar year.

Even if no claims were reported in the prior year, the report must be completed and submitted to the DWC Audit Unit. Each adjusting location is required to submit an ARI unless its requirement has been waived by DWC.

When ARI requirements are waived, claims administrators must file an annual report of adjusting locations. This report is to be filed annually on April 1 of each calendar year for the adjusting location operations as of December 31 of the prior year.

Claims administrators are required to report any change in the information reported in the ARI or annual report of adjusting location within 45 days of the effective date of the change. Penalties of up to $500 per location for failure to timely file this Report of Inventory may be assessed under Title 8, California Code of Regulations, Section 10111.1(b)(11) or 10111.2(b)(26).

The form for 2021 is located on the DWC website under the Audit and Enforcement Unit page.

Questions about submission of the ARI or the annual report of adjusting locations may be directed to the Audit Unit:

Juan Suarez sustained a cumulative injury to his low back and neck through September 8, 1993 (ADJ365717) while employed by Haley Brothers insured by Unicare Insurance and a specific injury to his low back and neck on July 27, 1986 (ADJ3469175) while employed at T.M. Cobb Company insured by Liberty Mutual.

In a 1997 Stipulations with Request for Award, Liberty Mutual paid Unicare $25,000.00 in full satisfaction of its contribution issue to resolve any and all future claims for contribution. Unicare agreed to assume full and sole responsibility for all future payment of benefits

Unicare is now insolvent and its claims are administered by the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA). CIGA took the position that Liberty Mutual was “other insurance” despite the wording of the Stipulation. Thus the issue submitted at a January 2020 trial was: “Is Liberty Mutual liable for the administration of this claim and possible reimbursement and contribution to the California Insurance Guarantee Association.”

The WCJ agreed with CIGA and found that Liberty Mutual is available “other insurance” and ordered that Liberty Mutual take over administration of applicant’s medical care and resolve reimbursement and contribution issues with CIGA.

But Liberty Mutual’s Petition for Reconsideration of this order was granted in the panel decision of Suarez v Haley Bros/TM Cobb et.al. (ADJ365717 – ADJ3469175) (Feb 2022)

In order to obtain reimbursement or a change of administrators, CIGA must show that Liberty Mutual is jointly and severally liable for medical treatment.

The panel discussed the Court of Appeal decision in California Ins. Guarantee Assn. v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd. (Lopez) (2016) 245 Cal.App.4th 1021 (81 Cal.Comp.Cases 317), where a final award apportioning liability between insurers did not change the joint and several nature of defendants’ liability.

In Lopez, the insurers agreed, in a compromise and release agreement, that the insurers would apportion liability for the remaining liens according to proof and with rights to contribution and reimbursement between the two being reserved. The Lopez Court noted that the carriers understood their liability remained joint and several even after settlement and apportionment

However in this case, Unicare Insurance settled its contribution rights as part of the Stipulated Award, and, significantly, the award issued solely against Unicare. Applicant was a signatory to these stipulations, including the stipulation that only Unicare would be liable for benefits. Therefore, after the settlement, Liberty Mutual no longer had any liability for benefits to Mr. Lopez and he could only obtain medical treatment benefits from Unicare.

There cannot be joint and several liability where one party has no liability. Accordingly, the panel granted reconsideration and found that Liberty Mutual is not liable for applicant’s medical treatment and CIGA is not entitled to reimbursement from them.

New research from The Hartford found that 43% of U.S. workers have delayed routine health care appointments since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The delay in care comes as many also report declines in their mental health (42%), social well-being (41%), financial security (32%) and physical health (29%).

A national omnibus online survey was conducted in the U.S. among approximately 2,000 adults aged 18+, including 1001 full-time and part-time employed respondents. The research was conducted Jan. 5-7, 2022. The margin of error is +/- 3% at a 95% confidence level.

The Hartford, which has been tracking workplace burnout levels among U.S. workers throughout the pandemic, found that the burnout rate has remained high at 61% in January – the same level reported in February and July of 2021. This burnout rate and declining health is manifesting in the way many U.S. workers feel about their jobs. Most respondents (63%) said their overall health/wellness impacts their productivity at work. Thirty percent noted they’re less engaged with their work and 25% said they have trouble concentrating or focusing.

“It is difficult to overcome the fear and fatigue we’re all experiencing amid the COVID-19 pandemic; however, it is important that people get back to prioritizing routine health visits and screenings to stay physically and mentally healthy,” said The Hartford’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Adam Seidner. “Many health conditions, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, may not be noticeable or detected without routine screenings. These types of conditions, when they continue to develop undetected, can lead to more serious health problems.”

According to the January 2022 Future of Benefits Pulse Survey, the top five reasons workers are putting off appointments include:

– – Fear of contracting COVID-19 (47%);
– – Difficulty getting an appointment (29%);
– – The need to cancel appointments due to COVID-19 restrictions/requirements (25%);
– – Fear of other illnesses (24%); and
– – Not a current priority (21%)

“Employers play a key role in helping to remove some of the barriers to health care, which is important in helping people live active and productive lives,” Seidner said. “I encourage employers to continue to offer the flexibility needed to ensure their employees can take key steps to improve their mental and physical health – and avoid the dangers of delayed care.”

According to an analysis of The Hartford’s 2021 short-term disability claims data, the top five injuries and illnesses are:

– – Musculoskeletal injuries, such as neck or back pain
– – COVID-19
– – Digestive disorders, such as hernias or appendicitis
– – Mental health conditions
– – Rheumatologic disorders, such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis

Seidner notes that these types of illnesses and injuries can be treated before becoming a disabling condition that prevents people from working or can be managed well following a disability claim by keeping up with routine care.

To help get back on track with appointments, Seidner recommends U.S. workers:

– – Talk to their doctor’s offices about the precautions they are taking in the office to keep patients safe;
– – Stay current on prescription medications and continue to follow the medical guidance related to an existing condition;
– – Consider a telehealth visit, if available;
– – Ask to be placed on a call-back list to be made aware of openings due to cancellations if appointments aren’t readily available; and
– – Take advantage of the online health portals available to communicate directly with your doctor.

To better engage with workers and promote their overall wellness, Seidner recommends employers:

– – Offer benefits and resources that address the overall well-being of their workforce – encompassing physical health, mental health, as well as financial resilience;
– – Communicate more often to employees to remind them of the benefits and services that are available;
– – Lead by example by making your own appointments a priority; and
– – Offer the flexibility employees need to make their appointments a priority.

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., operates through its subsidiaries under the brand name, The Hartford, and is headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut.

The bipartisan Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking was charged with examining aspects of the synthetic opioid threat to the United States, and with developing a consensus on a strategic approach to combating the illegal flow of synthetic opioids into the United States. It just published it’s final report.

The Commission was composed of representatives of seven executive branch departments and agencies, four sitting members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and four subject-matter experts from the private sector chosen for their deep experience and expertise on this topic.

Sadly, the report begins by saying the “overdose crisis in the United States claims more lives each year than firearms, suicide, homicide, or motor vehicle crashes.” And goes on to report that some two-thirds of these deaths – about 170 fatalities each day, primarily among those ages 18 to 45 – involved synthetic opioids. The primary driver of the opioid epidemic today is illicit fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times more potent than heroin.

The report found that Mexico is the principal source of this illicit fentanyl and its analogues today. In Mexico, cartels manufacture these poisons in clandestine laboratories with ingredients – precursor chemicals – sourced largely from the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

The opioid crisis in the United States first gained public attention in the 2000s. Decades of an oversupply of prescription opioid pain medications beginning in the mid-1990s seeded its origins. Starting around 2014, potent synthetic opioids – mostly, illegally manufactured fentanyl – began their sharp rise in U.S. drug markets. Although they increasingly displaced prescription opioids and heroin in some places, these new drugs rapidly worsened an already-alarming public health problem.

The emergence of counterfeit tablets that contain minute quantities of synthetic opioids is particularly troubling. Drug traffickers in Mexico produce most of these tablets, but illegal pill pressing does occur to a lesser extent in the United States and Canada.

The Commission developed 21 key actions supported by 78 enabling actions that address the most-salient and -actionable challenges that the United States faces today in combating the flow and use of illegally manufactured synthetic opioids.

And as the federal government mulls over these findings and recommendations, recent studies show that San Francisco overdose deaths far exceed COVID deaths. Over the past two years, the city has seen more than 1,360 drug overdose fatalities – more than double the total COVID-19 death toll there. The majority of those deaths were in the Tenderloin and neighboring SOMA district.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced an “emergency declaration” for the area last month saying drug deaths, open-air drug dealing, street chaos and violence there had gotten “totally out of control.” She vowed “tough love” for those who break the law and expanded access to help for those with alcohol and substance use disorders.

However, concurrently with this new report, the Biden administration is being heavily criticized for announcing a $30M grant to fund free crack pipes, in what might appear to some as a mixed message to addicts.

On Tuesday, US Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee wrote to the department of Health and Human Services, expressing “grave concerns” that a $30 million grant program from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) could include subsidizing drug paraphernalia.

“Government-funded drug paraphernalia is a slap in the face to the communities and first responders fighting against drugs flowing into our country from a wide-open southern border,” Ms Blackburn wrote in her letter. “If this is the president’s plan to address drug abuse, our nation is in serious trouble.”

An Oxnard, California, political action committee and a Florida provider of canvassing services went before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to argue that AB5, a California law that qualifies “doorknockers” and signature gatherers as employees rather than independent contractors violates their free speech rights.

Mobilize the Message and Starr Coalition for Moving Oxnard Forward filed a civil complain in federal court in Los Angeles last June. They alleged that Assembly Bill 5 violates the First Amendment right of free speech. AB 5 codifies the so-called “ABC Test” articulated in the 2018 Supreme Court Dynamex decision. The test consists of a three-pronged inquiry that determines whether a worker is classified as an employee or an independent contractor for certain purposes.

The plaintiffs argue that AB 5 favors commercial speech over political speech because it exempts certain commercial workers from being classified as employees, while classifying signature gatherers and doorknockers for political campaigns as employees. The Court denied a Motion for Preliminary Injunction on August 09, 2021.

In denying the bid for a preliminary injunction, Judge Phillips said they were unlikely to succeed on the merits of their lawsuit. The distinction between how the law treats a cosmetics salesperson and a campaign signature gatherers was based on the worker’s occupation..

“Plaintiffs’ argument that the content of what a worker says will determine whether an AB 5 exemption applies in this context lacks merit,” Phillips said. “The more sensible interpretation is that the distinctions hinge on the worker’s industry regardless of speech.”

The judge was also unconvinced by the harm claimed by Mobilized the Message of not being able to operate in California because of the state law, noting the company waited almost two years after the law was passed to sue.

Plaintiffs appealed the denial to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on August 10, 2021. They say in the commentary on their website that “the passage of AB 5, which effectively bars campaigns from hiring canvassers as independent contractors, has forced the plaintiffs to cease their longstanding practice of hiring contractors to collect signatures for ballot petitions and engage California voters in discussion. The costs of hiring canvassers as employees, as required by California’s new law, makes them unaffordable to many campaigns.“

“The state has provided exemptions, however, allowing the hiring of independent contractors for virtually identical work in newspaper delivery and direct sales. The only distinguishing feature between these workers and those hired by the plaintiffs is the content of the speech they are paid to promote. Content-based regulations of speech are presumptively unconstitutional under the First Amendment. Moreover, the government cannot give preferential treatment to commercial speech over political or campaign speech.”

Oral argument was heard on the appeal on February 2nd in San Francisco. According to the report by Courthouse News, U.S. Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, a Donald Trump appointee, expressed some sympathy with Mobilize the Message. Whereas the newspaper industry and the direct sales lobby may have been successful in getting exemptions from the California Legislature for their workers, it was unlikely that advocates of direct democracy would have been able to get such an exemption because, according to the judge, they are the biggest enemy of the Legislature.

“There’s no way they’re going to get an exemption,” VanDyke said.

U.S. Circuit Judge Andrew Hurwitz, a Barack Obama appointee, expressed skepticism that the distinction between commercial door-to-door salespeople and political canvassers under the law had to do with the nature of their speech. “It seems to me that it’s not about the content of your speech,” Hurwitz said to Mobilize the Message’s attorney Alan Gura. “It’s about the way you conduct your business.”

Mobilize the Message said it hires doorknockers and signature gatherers on an independent contractor basis and doesn’t pay hourly wages. Rather, doorknockers get paid for reaching milestones, according to the company. They can set their own hours, breaks and schedules, as long as they work during the times of day when people are most likely at home.

U.S. District Judge Joan Ericksen, sitting by designation from the District of Minnesota, rounded out the panel. The judges did not indicate how or when they would rule.