CALIFORNIA LEGISLATIVE AND POLITICAL UPDATE. Paul Yoder CCWC Managing Director Jason Schmelzer CCWC Legislative Advocate

Transcription

1 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATIVE AND POLITICAL UPDATE Paul Yoder CCWC Managing Director Jason Schmelzer CCWC Legislative Advocate

2 California Coalition on Workers Compensation EDUCATION Annual Conference Workers Compensation Education Day Media Engagement POLITICAL CCWC PAC: Contributes to candidates for elected office that support a balanced WC system Appointment of regulators & judges LEGISLATIVE / REGULATORY Coalition leadership Advancement of reform Defeat of costly new mandates and procedural roadblocks Regulatory implementation and reform

3 POLITICAL REPORT

4

5 Governor Brown Elected to 4 th term No future elections $19.6 million in bank 52% voter approval Priorities: Climate Change Drought Budget Infrastructure

6 2016 Election Cycle Presidential Election Clinton, Webb, O Malley, Sanders, & Chafee Bush, Christie, Fiorina, Paul, Perry, Rubio, etc. US Senate Race Kamala Harris essentially running unopposed Ballot Initiatives Proponents hoping for high turnout during presidential election year Legislative Races Democrats try to take back seats lost in 2014

7 Legislative Balance of Power ASSEMBLY SENATE 28 Dem 14 Dem 52 Rep 26 Rep

8 Ballot Initiatives Currently 44 Active Initiatives Marijuana Vaccine Bill Referendum Plastic Bag Ban Referendum Cigarette Tax Increases Prop. 30 Tax Extension? Blackfish Initiative?

9 What is California Thinking? Most important issue facing CA (PPIC 5/2014) Water and drought: 39% Jobs and the economy: 20% Crime, gangs, drugs: 5% Pollution & global warming: 5% Immigration: 4%

10 Voter Outlook Field Poll Voter View of CA Economy YEAR BAD MIDDLE GOOD 5/ % 17% 33% % 12% 16% % 4% 5% % 2% 2% % 26% 20% % 21% 24% ON THE BIG ISSUES: Vaccines and schools 67% believe should be required Marijuana legalization 54% favor and 44 oppose Extension of Prop. 30 Taxes 49% favor and 33% oppose Are people doing enough to respond to drought? 60% say not enough

11 View of State Government (PPIC 5/2015) 62% of Californians believe that state government is run by a few big interests looking out for themselves At least 6 in 10 Californians have held this view since 2004 How much of the time can you trust the state government to do what it right? Always (6%), Most of the time (25%), Only some of the time (61%). How much money is wasted by people in state government? A lot (52%), Some (36%), Not Much (9%)

12 CALIFORNIA S WC SYSTEM PERFORMANCE

13 The WC Dollar

14 Estimated Ultimate Cost of an Indemnity Claim $90,000 $80,000 $70,000 $60,000 $56,585 $63,437 $6,916 $70,507 $7,719 $78,600 $8,844 $83,966 $85,915 $10,748 $10,211 $87,161 $87,232 $86,845 $5,006 $5,139 $5,197 $10,831 $11,137 $11,768 $50,000 $40,000 $30,000 $6,139 $31,897 $35,757 $40,245 $44,630 $47,710 $49,229 $45,385 $44,927 $43,378 $20,000 $10,000 $18,822 $20,764 $22,543 $25,126 $26,045 $25,938 $25,939 $26,029 $26,502 $ Indemnity Medical ALAE MCCP

15 Average Charged Rate per $100 of Payroll $2.10 $2.25 $2.32 $2.39 $2.57 $2.85 $ /12-6/12 7/12-12/ /14-6/14

16 CA Ranked

17 Frequency: CA v. USA

18 LEGISLATIVE REPORT

19 Key Legislators and Staff ADMINISTRATION David Lanier Labor Secretary Christine Baker Director, Department of Industrial Relations Destie Overpeck Acting Administrative Director ASSEMBLY Asm. Tom Daly Chair, Assembly Insurance Committee Asm. Jimmy Gomez Chair, Assembly Appropriations Committee Mark Rakich Chief Consultant, Assembly Insurance Committee SENATE Tony Mendoza Chair, Senate Labor & Industrial Relations Committee Ricardo Lara Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee Gideon Baum Consultant, Senate Labor & Industrial Relations Committee

20 Crisis High costs Poor outcomes System failing Breakdown Major cost pressures Significant abuse Legal-Legislative changes Inadequate controls Minor Reform Some cost/abuse issues addressed No systemic impact Erosion Moderate cost pressures Legal-Legislative changes Loopholes and gaming Major Reform System realignment Stabilization Cost declines Outcome improvements Adequate control tools

21 2015 CCWC Priorities Cumulative Trauma Investigate post-termination CT Issues Build consensus on workable reforms Presumptions Hold the line on presumptions in California Guard against application to private sector Coordination Among Employers Begin examination of needed reforms with partners Build consensus on list of needed reforms and develop associated policy

22 Key Bills AB 305 (Gonzalez) OPPOSE PD Ratings of breast cancer must be comparable to ratings for prostate cancer. Precludes apportionment for disability resulting from pregnancy, menopause, osteoporosis, or psyche related to sexual harassment. Status: Senate Floor AB 438 (Chiu) - CONCERNS Requires DWC / DIR to comply with bilingual services act that applies to most other state departments. Currently only required to provide materials in English or Spanish. Applicability to claims administrators a concern. Status: Senate Appropriations

23 Key Bills AB 511 (Gipson) - OPPOSE Vast expansion of presumptions to achieve equal treatment of all officers. Top to bottom rewrite of presumption statutes. Status: Held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. AB 1124 (Perea) TBD Requires DWC to establish a pharmacy formulary by 1/1/2017. Exempt from the APA. Instead establishes advisory committee process. Status: Senate Appropriations

24 Key Bills AB 1170 (Alejo) - OPPOSE Created pilot project for agricultural employers No WC insurance requirement. Assessment on Ag employers goes into fund to cover occupational and nonoccupational care. Status: Died First Committee SB 8 (Hertzberg) - CONCERNS Rewrites tax code to apply sales tax to services. Purpose is to stabilize CA tax receipts. Potential Impact on WC costs through application of sales tax to legal and other services Status: Not Moving / Potential for ballot initiative

25 Key Bills SB 488 (Block) - OPPOSE Requires individual licensing of claims adjusters working for a third party administrator Duplicative, expensive, and incongruent licensing requirements Status: Died Senate Insurance Committee SB 563 (Pan) - OPPOSE Focused on compensation arrangements between employers and utilization review companies Precluded UR on future medical cases under certain conditions Status: Held Senate Appropriations Committee

26 QUESTIONS?