THIS IS NOT ->Delawareliberal

Do I have to wait until then?

;-)

Just kidding.
 

Blaskovitz assured me that today was a fluke and blogs and blogging is the wed from 3:30 to 4:00 topic from here on out.

We'll see.
 

This is soooooo great Jason! Good on ya. It will be wonderful to be able to tune in to a local talk station and hear some real ideas instead of attack rhetoric!

Onward!
 

Where's the text of SB 362? I couldn't get it from delaware.gov website. Based on the radio show there are a couple of red flats Dems should be concerned about, but I want to read it before going ballistic.
 

that's "red flags" not "red flats."
 

Guess you never had to deal with a workers' comp issue, huh? Let me clue you in...it is never set up to benefit anyone other than the business or governmental agency. The injured worker never recoups what they have lost in terms of wages, pain, or suffering. Never. And don't kid yourself when lawyers enter the picture; they take their piece of the pie too, right out of the injured person's pocket.
 

Bankruptcy "reform."

Tort "reform."

Social Security "reform.

OK, now say "workers compensation reform" with a straight face.
 

SB 362

If the link fails. (it is pretty long) You can just google "SB 362 and Delaware" and the page is the second or third result.


Let me know if I should be going ballistic. I know it is hard from some to imagine that RAM got one right, but even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.
 

"for some to image"

not

from some to imagine
 

CRIMINEY!!

"for some to imagine"

not

for some to image

When the correction needs a correction you know I need to keep it slow today.
 

I met Dennis Spivack briefly at yesterdays Moveon event in Wilmington. Did a google search and found your blog. I did blog about the moveon event here.
Glad to find your blog. I moved to DE more than a year back and am glad to have found your progressive blog.
I have been donating to other dems but would like to do more at a local level.
Does Spivack have a good chance to beat Castle?
 

Just skimmed through SB 362. Arghh!! I haven't really compared it to the old law but so far I see the bill:

1. Removes your right to a lawyer. That's right:

all private contracts between an attorney and an employee...are against public policy and void.

I suppose employers can still hire squadrons of lawyers to try to squash your claim.

I wonder if this workers comp bill is the quid pro quo for the minimum wage bill. That would explain RAM's sudden and uncharacteristic burst of zeal to get it done now.


2. Imposes HMO-style utilization review (i.e., DOL will be making medical decisions, not your doctor):

[DOL] shall adopt...a coordinated set of medical practice guidelines and associated regulations and procedures to guide utilization of medical treatments in workers’ compensation... prescription drug utilization, inpatient hospitalization and length of stay, diagnostic testing, physical therapy, chiropractic care and palliative care.

3. Certification requirement implements a two-level certification for for health care providers.

- If the provider doesn't have Cert Level 1, injured workers have to get pre-authorized.

- If you don't have Cert Level 2, you aren't permitted to rate the severity of the workers disability and you can't testify to IAB or OWC (Office of Workers Comp).

Truthfully, I don't completely understand the impact of these certifications but, since DOL doles them out according to hazy criteria, there seems to be a lot of opportunity for mischief and favoritism, and I suspect it is designed to grandfather in certain large existing practices in Delaware. It smells like a deal.

All in all this bill looks like a hit on Delaware's workers. When the claim is made that Delaware has high workers comp costs, that's because workers are well-protected in Delaware and are receiving what's due to them. Currently workers can file a workers comp case WITH A LAWYER who will follow the case and make sure the worker gets what he or she is owed. This assistance is necessary because injuries can play out over an entire lifetime, and employers will never cease to find new ways to cut you off. Therfore an attorney's assistance is essential to protect your rights, especially at a time when you may be broke, sick/hurt, or both.


That's all for now, just from a first reading.