Chiropractors Getting Fat on Work Comp
By Robert Warne - August 18, 2003 Claims professionals know all too well that the potential for creating a powerful dependency is one of the greatest risks associated with workplace injuries.
Whether a dependency is related to painkillers or compensation checks, a dependency puts a pad lock on a claim that isn’t easy for an employer or adjuster to pick.
The Los Angeles Times over the weekend ran an article that highlighted a chiropractic dependency epidemic that’s put California’s employers and adjusters in a costly dilemma.
The article cited how the self-insured grocery giant, Safeway Inc.’s injured employees in California see a chiropractor four times more than its employees with the same jobs and same injuries in Arizona and Oregon.
Safeway’s Vice President of Workers’ Compensation, William Zachry told the Times that because its employees are afforded by law, unrestricted access to chiropractic treatment, its cost per claim dwarfs that of the other 19 states in which it operates.
Safeway’s experience backs up reports that the state’s claimants average 34 visits to their chiropractors, who carved a nice $235 million portion out of the work comp pie last year.
The insurance commissioner and a few legislators have said they are eager to fix what some have called, California’s last golden goose that is still laying golden eggs.
But many don’t believe the chiropractic goose will be cooked until there’s a cap on frequency and duration of visits and chiropractors can no longer be listed as a claimant’s treating physician.
| 
__May11th2017.gif)
.gif)