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California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi released Feb. 26 an outline of how he plans to resuscitate the state’s workers’ compensation system. Out of the huddle with his advisory panel, the one time Academic All-American Football champ expects to tackle seven burley issues.

His targets are: improved financial oversight; medical cost containment; consistency in determining the level of permanent disability; improved coordination and communication with state agencies regulating the system; continued aggressive fraud interdiction; creation of a 24-hour medical care system merging health insurance with workers' compensation medical care; and development of professional training and quality standards for service decision makers.

"Medical costs, indemnity, litigation, and other service expenses are out of control and draining a workers' comp system that is destined to crash if we don't meet the issues head on and make some tough choices," said Garamendi. "California has the highest premium costs in the nation. However, benefits for injured workers remain in the lower third of all states. That is the definition of a broken system.

"Our task is to reverse this runaway trend so California has lower costs, while providing adequate benefits. Only a complete restructuring of this complicated, litigious, fraud infested, grossly inefficient and ineffective system can achieve this goal," said Garamendi. "Premium rates will only come down when the Legislature and the Governor approve fundamental restructuring and reform."

To aid Garamendi in this endeavor he convened two diverse panels prior to taking office to diagnose the system’s condition and to come up with the appropriate treatment.

The full reports from the two panels will be available at the Department of Insurance office in Sacramento, Monday, March 3, 2003.