443 Lafayette Road N.

(651) 284-5005
St. Paul, Minnesota 55155 1-800-DIAL-DLI
www.doli.state.mn.us TTY: (651) 297-4198

Workers’ Compensation Insurers’ Task Force

May 16, 2007
minutes

Members present Staff members present

Mary Abraham; Westfield Group Debbie Caswell

Kathy Berg; Liberty Mutual Ralph Hapness
Charlie Bierman; Mayo Clinic Phil Moosbrugger
David Clark for Dennis Ballinger; Western Patricia Todd
National
Pat Grove for Karen Clayton Ebert; MN Counties
Insurance Trust
Robert Farber; Berkley Risk
Todd Sime for Ken Gildow; RTW
Meg Kasting; SFM
Clair McCoy; GAB
Cindy Weingart for David Oertli; Sedgwick
Rob Rangel; Broadspire
Nancy Ross, City of Minneapolis
Laurie Simonsen; Travelers
Cindy Van Eyll; General Casualty
Gary Westman; MN DOER

Members excused

Jodie Connor
Ken Gildow
Robert Johnson

The meeting was called to order by co-chairperson Gary Westman at 9:07 a.m. Task-force
members and staff introduced themselves. The agenda was approved as presented.

3) Announcements

Assistant Commissioner Patricia Todd gave an update regarding the Workers’ Compensation
Division’s (WCD) five-year Performance Plan, which is in the second year. The managers had
an off-site meeting this year to re-evaluate the plan. In that meeting, they discussed core values
for WCD:

1. exceptional customer service;

2. every employee feels value in the work performed and works together to make a better
us;
3. data and process integrity;
4. staff members will manage their workload so that the work product is completed
accurately and efficiently; and
5. we constantly ask the question “are we doing the right things the right way?”.

This information can be provided to you in alternative formats (Braille, large print or audio tape).

An Equal Opportunity Employer

Workers’ Compensation Insurers’ Task Force -2- May 16, 2007
Minutes

They also identified the following future statements about where the organization wants to be in
five years:

1. to have a top notch regulatory system;

2. to have state-of-the-art technology;
3. to have a consultative approach; and
4. to have the Workers’ Compensation Division develop a culture of mutual respect and an
environment of “fun,” with staff members who are well-respected in their field and
sought after by external entities.

Todd gave an update about the Data-driven Workers’ Compensation (DDWC) Project. She noted
there is an insurer working-session May 22, 2007. The last external stakeholder DDWC meeting
is scheduled on May 24, 2007. Internal meetings are being held to review the project report and
to plan future activities. Todd noted a budget initiative for additional monies and hardware has
been approved for this project.

Todd reported there were meetings this year regarding pay for performance. The meetings
identified outreach opportunities. As such, the department is exploring online training for various
topics, such as: information about what happens if you get hurt, for employees; adjuster training
modules, such as PPD ratings; and the treatment parameters for online review.

Legislative update

The department’s budget bill, House File 1208, was passed out of the House and Senate and was
vetoed by the governor. Of interest to the WCITF is it included allocation of workers’
compensation funds for lifts in nursing homes and an ombudsman for meatpacking plants.
Various meetings were held with legislators, regarding the Workers’ Compensation Advisory
Council (WCAC) bill but it was never brought forward. The WCAC will look at what it wants to
bring forward next year.

Penalty subcommittee

Rob Rangel said he, Meg Kasting, Robert Farber and Charlie Bierman – from the task force –
and Steve Masters, Phil Moosbrugger and Penny Grev – from the Department of Labor and
Industry (DLI) – met after the most recent meeting to discuss penalties. They shared their
experiences with penalties. Rangel noted some First Report of Injury forms do not have the
Social Security number and recommended insurers get a “dummy Social Security number” by
calling Pat Johnson at DLI at (651) 284-5272. Insurers also need to make sure the date of injury,
the employer and insurer information are on that report. If an insurer needs training, the WCD
may be available, provided at least 15 to 20 people are at the session. Masters encouraged
insurers to call him if they get a penalty and have questions or believe it is not valid. It was noted
there is a manual on the DLI Web site about EDI and how it works.

Rangel announced the subcommittee members do not feel it is necessary to continue with the
penalty subcommittee. If any issues arise, members should call Masters or bring the issue to the
attention of the task force for discussion.
Workers’ Compensation Insurers’ Task Force -3- May 16, 2007
Minutes

5) Presentation about medical costs

Kasting gave a presentation, Rising medical costs in Minnesota’s workers’ comp system: what
are the issues and are there any solutions? She noted this information was presented to the
Minnesota Self-Insurers Association last summer, so some of the information was dated but was
still worthwhile. She did update some information and suggested medical cost containment
efforts should be viewed in a historical context because it is analyzed every year to find what is
going to work for Minnesota. The presentation is available online at
www.doli.state.mn.us/pdf/sfm_wcmedcosts.pdf.

Bierman noted the information presented made it look like workers’ compensation is much more
lucrative and said that did not apply for Mayo. Kasting referred him to the NCCI Web site. Todd
noted NCCI has done extensive studies comparing medical costs and workers’ compensation
costs in different states and it is a good place to go for more detail. Kasting noted the statistic
commonly articulated is that workers’ compensation costs are 40 percent to 50 percent higher
than Group Health. She noted people would be interested in hearing what the Group Health data
indicates. Bierman said for the same service they net more through Group Health at Mayo then
workers’ compensation. They charge the same amount for everything, but the amount actually
paid to Mayo by Group Health is much higher than what is paid by workers’ compensation. This
is related to the reduction of the regular fee.

6) New business

Julie Marquardt, DLI, will be invited to a future meeting to give an update about the medical fee
schedule.

DLI’s Research and Statistics unit will give an update about the Minnesota Workers’
Compensation System Report, 2004 and will discuss the cost of medical procedures.

Members suggested that the day of the week for a future meeting be changed and asked that Dr.
Lohman be invited to educate the task force about the treatment parameters. Kasting suggested
they wait until medication treatment parameters are approved by the Medical Services Review
Board.

7) Future agenda

Members expressed interest in having DLI Community Service Representative John Stiffin at a
future meeting to explain what he does.

A representative from the Workers’ Compensation Reinsurance Association (WCRA) will give a
presentation about the timeliness of reporting to the WCRA, catastrophic case management and
the services available through the WCRA, at the Sept. 19, 2007, meeting.
Workers’ Compensation Insurers’ Task Force -4- May 16, 2007
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8) Paper reports

Westman noted the case law summary was in members’ packets and pointed out the minutes are
available online at http://www.doli.state.mn.us/wcitf.html.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:31 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Debbie Caswell
Executive Secretary

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