Presentation

Adoption of technology (telehealth/wearables)
 

Talking Points?

• Most of the focus had previsoily been on injury prevention - for example warning an employee of bad ergonomics
• Now there are solutions geared towards recovery and return to work
• Wearables that can monitor restrictions are being followed, care plans are being followed, or improve function with an exoskeleton.

Behavioral Health - Impact on recovery/rtw

Talking Points?

• 43% - 50%+ or more injured employees experience depressive symptoms at some point - primarily during first month after injury
• 78% more injured workers experienced depression vs non-injured workers over same period
• We‘ve started discussions with some potential partners in the behavioral health space to explore ways to incorporate solutions into our case management process 

Layoffs/Labor shortages/Turnover (including claims staffing issues)

Talking points?

• Fewer employees at companies downsizing but increase in claims filed (from laid off employees). Mostly cumulative trauma cases. 
• Influx of new employees with less experience at some companies leading to higher injury rates
• Higher turnover at carriers/TPAs and their vendor partners makes handling of claims more difficult. 
• We can do our part by limiting turnover at TRIUNE we have an average tenure of 12 years with some employees celebrating as many as 30 years with the company. 
• About a year ago, a Hartford study found that 28% of us workers said they were stressed due to being overworked and understaffed. 
• By being responsive and reliable and pleasant to work with - we can ensure we are not placing an unnecessary burden on the claims handlers and hopefully helping to reduce any stress they are experiencing. 
   

Obesity Rates increasing - impact on recovery

Talking points?

• obesity rate has increased by 39% over last 20 years and 42% of Americans are obese. 
• Obese workers filed twice the number of wc claims, missed 13 times more days of work, and had medical costs that were 7 times higher (older study from 2007 by Duke University)
• Addressing comorbidities like obesity is dependent on the customer but it’s something we pay attention to and are exploring ways we might be able to have an impact

Increasing costs of catastrophic claims

Talking points?

• 30% increase in claims incurred costs over $10 million over last 3 years
• Accident survivability increasing
• Life expectancy increasing
• Some costs not covered by fee schedules

Aging Workforce - longer recovery times and more PT
 

Talking Points?

• 39% of the American Work force expected to be older than 55 in 2026
• Employees 56 and older have 21% more PT visits over a 31% longer duration than younger employees

What is the conclusion?

That said, we enjoy having discussions around these types of challenges with our customers and working together to build innovative and custom programs to tackle them. If it ever makes sense to dig into any of these a bit deeper with the Hartford - we’d welcome the opportunity. 

What is the intro?

These are the trends and market conditions we’re paying attention to and talking about internally. I’m sure none of these are new to you and you might already be addressing some of them in various ways. 

What are the the trends we are following?

• Behavioral Health - impact on recovery/rtw
• Obesity Rates Increasing - impact on recovery
• Adoption of technology (telehealth/wearables)
• Medical Inflation
• Layoffs/Labor Shortages/Turnover (including claims staffing issues)
• Aging workforce - longer recovery times and more PT
• Increasing costs associated with Catastrophic Claims