MONTANA SELF INSURERS’ ASSOCIATION - MSIA
June 2020 Update
- Membership Dues – New Billing and Membership Dates
- New Average Weekly Wage Rates Effective 7/1/2020 Announced
- LMAC Meeting Next Thursday, June 11
- Presumptive COVID Coverage
As always, if you have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me via call or text at 406-431-7220 or by email at Pgstrauss520@gmail.com. Thanks – Peter
- Membership Dues – New Billing and Membership Dates
Your Board of Directors has taken action to help define value of your membership in the Association. Dues are now due at the beginning of the Association fiscal year – July 1. All past due dues from 2018 – present are forgiven, and all payments received since the fall, 2019 billing will be applied towards the new due date of July 31. Membership will run from July 1 through June 30 the next year. Watch for individual notices to be sent to members the first week in June, 2020.
If you have paid your dues as a result of the Fall, 2019 billing and received a notice, please contact the MSIA office at 406-431-7220 or pgstrauss520@gmail.com.
- New Average Weekly Wage Rates Effective 7/1/2020 Announced
The MT Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) Employment Relations Division yesterday (6/1/2020) released the latest State Average Weekly Wage information to be used effective for injuries and illnesses occurring July 1, 2020 through 6/30/2021.
The information has two purposes – first as the basis for benefits for new reported injuries and illnesses effective July 1, 2020 and second as the basis for the cost of living adjustments for prior injuries for those claims with benefits that qualify for the COLA.
The new SAWW is $849.00 an increase of 3.66% ($30) from last year. From the AWW announcement:
For injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, all insurers must use $849 as the maximum weekly compensation rate for temporary total disability benefits, permanent total disability benefits, temporary partial disability benefits, rehabilitation benefits and death benefits. For permanent partial disability benefits, the maximum weekly compensation rate is $424.50 per week for injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021.
The COLA law is more complicated:
For dates of injury occurring on or after July 1, 1987 through March 25, 2003, the cost of living adjustment is the percentage increase, if any, in the state’s average weekly wage as adopted by the department over the state’s average weekly wage adopted for the previous year, or 3%, whichever is less. Therefore, for dates of injury occurring before March 26, 2003, a figure of 3% should be applied to the benefit amount of any worker who has received 104 weeks of permanent total disability benefits before July 1, 2020 on a post July 1, 1987 claim.
For dates of injury occurring on or after March 26, 2003, the cost of living adjustment is the percentage increase, if any, in the state’s average weekly wage as adopted by the department over the state’s average weekly wage adopted for the previous year. Section 39-71-702(5), MCA, effective March 26, 2003, removed the provisions limiting a worker to a maximum of 10 benefit adjustments and limiting the adjustment percentage increase to 3%. Therefore, for dates of injury occurring on or after March 26, 2003, a figure of 3.66% should be applied to the benefit amount of any worker who has received 104 weeks of permanent total disability benefits before July 1, 2020.
- LMAC Meeting Next Thursday, June 11 10:00a – 2:00p (Mountain Time)
The Labor Management Advisory Committee (LMAC) is set to meet again Thursday, June 11 starting at 10:00a. This is a virtual meeting available to all who are interested in attending. The agenda has not yet been released but is expected to include:
- A decision on the proposal to eliminate compensability for prospective Second Injury Fund (SIF) claims (see the February 2020 presentation http://erd.dli.mt.gov/Portals/54/Documents/LMAC/2-18-2020/Feb%20SIF%20Presentation%202.pdf)
- A review of the Wage Integrity & Misclassification in the Construction Industry Task Force Report and Recommendations issued in December, 2019 (see the full report - http://erd.dli.mt.gov/Portals/54/Documents/Integrity%20in%20Wage%20Reporting%20Task%20Force/WageTheftReport-Final.pdf?ver=2019-12-23-104821-813)
- A review of the 5-Year Reopening Petition status
- A discussion on Telemedicine
- A review of WC Claims Since the COVID-19 shutdown
- Discussion on the impact of the COVID-19 shutdown on ERD operations
- A discussion on the impact of the shutdown on Claims Examiner Certification CE credit opportunities
Please click this URL to join. https://mt-gov.zoom.us/j/95992342715?pwd=eHlmZmVZdHRCTlIwTVhZZStZaEx2UT09
Password: 103011
To join by phone:
Dial US: +1 646 558 8656
Webinar ID: 959 9234 2715
Password: 103011
As of the end of last year, LMAC is chaired by Lt. Governor Mike Cooney. ERD Administrator Eric Strauss (no relation to me) serves as a non-voting member.
LMAC members representing workers: LMAC members representing employers:
Al Smith, Montana Trial Lawyers Association Annette Hoffman, St. Vincent’s Healthcare
Adam Haight, Montana AFL-CIO Bridger Mahlum, MT Chamber of Commerce
Doug Buman, Laborers' International Union Michael J. Marsh, Midland Claims Services, Inc of North America & Industrial Injury Claims
Don Judge, Injured Workers Resource Council Lance Zanto*, MT WC Management Bureau
Jim Larson*, Teamsters Local 190 Vickie Evans, MT Contractors Compensation Fund
*Co-Chairs
- Presumptive COVID Coverage
We can expect to see at least some legislative proposals in this coming year regarding providing presumptive coverage for COVID and other diseases. Right now all the attention is on COVID coverage with new state laws providing a variety of presumptive coverage, mostly for first responders and medical personnel. California, through the Executive Order of Governor Newsome, has ordered all COVID claims to be compensable through July 5. The California Workers Compensation Rating Bureau has estimated this coverage will add $1.2 billion to the system.
Montana law provides coverage for diseases contracted through exposure at work. As with most workers compensation claims, the employee has the burden of proof regarding contracting the disease as a result of work exposure, not community exposure. Montana law also provides payment of medical benefits with a reservation of rights to recover those benefits should the claim ultimately be found not compensable (MCA 39-71-608 and/or MCA 39-71-615).
The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) has recently published a research brief on the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on workers compensation. In addition, they have created an interactive model to provide different potential impacts in each of their states (Montana is an NCCI state).
The white paper presents a qualitative discussion concerning the challenges in estimating key assumptions and outlines the potential directional impact of variables not contemplated in the model. The framework may also be used to evaluate the potential impact on losses to the system of additional user-defined hypothetical scenarios, as needed.
https://www.ncci.com/Articles/Documents/Insights-COVID-19-WorkersComp-Modeling-Potential-Impacts.pdf
(Full Disclosure – NCCI is a former employer and I find some of their information useful. While their data tends to be older, it does provide some value in identifying past experience and is used by both insurance and workers compensation regulators as indications of future impacts.)
Peter Strauss, Executive Director
Montana Self Insurers Association
520 Monroe Ave
Helena, MT 59601
406-431-7220