I am sad to say my father passed away yesterday after a four year long battle with dementia. In his heyday, he was a legal force to be reckoned with in Southern Illinois. Past president of ITLA's Southern Illinois Chapter, member of the ABA, ATLA, St. Clair County Bar Association, past board member of the Jewish Federation of Southern Illinois, and so much more. He was one of the fathers of Jones Act in this area and a longtime partner, friend, and colleague of the likes of Joe Cohn, Rex Carr, Steve Tillery, Jerry Schlichter, Rob Bogard, Mark Glass, Judy Cates, Gerry Montroy, Joel Kunin, Ed Brennan, and many others. Sandy was a big supporter of Israel, the Democratic Party, and the underprivileged. He was a terrific family man and will be missed tremendously. Sandy is survived by his wife, Carol; three children; six granddaughters; and four (with number five on the way) great grandchildren. Mike Korein
Glass & Korein LLC has been named Workers' Compensation Law Firm of the Year in Illinois – 2018 by Global Law Experts in the 9th annual GLE awards.
Glass & Korein LLC has been named 2018 Illinois Workers' Compensation Law Firm of the Year in Illinois by 2018 Corporate International Global Awards
Any “reforms” to the Illinois workers’ compensation system must instead focus on insurers’ unfair profiteering
Statement from Illinois Trial Lawyers Association President John P. Scanlon
February 14, 2018
Under the guise of “reform,” Gov. Bruce Rauner is seeking changes to our workers’ compensation laws that will shift the responsibility of caring for injured workers away from insurers and onto those hurt on the job and the taxpayers. The governor and his insurance industry allies want to cut the number of injured workers eligible to receive benefits. Many employees, especially older workers, will face the prospect of losing the right to compensation because Rauner would let insurers avoid responsibility for serious work-related injuries by blaming a worker’s physical decline even when that physical decline is a result of a harsh work place.
The benefit cuts long sought by Rauner would create a disincentive for employers to ensure safe worksites and working conditions, as a cost-benefit analysis might show that it is less expensive to pay for injuries than to spend the funds needed to prevent accidents from happening in the first place.
Since lawmakers rewrote the state’s workers’ compensation laws in 2011, Illinois has led the nation in cost reduction for workers’ compensation in all of the relevant categories of cost measurement trends. According to the latest report from the non-profit, non-partisan National Academy of Social Insurance, total benefits paid in Illinois dropped 19.3 percent between 2011 and 2015, while the rest of the U.S. saw 2 percent cost increases during this same period.
What didn’t happen, and where the real problem lies, is that insurers did not pass those cost savings on to Illinois businesses. Instead, they kept the money as more profit for themselves.
There are 332 insurance companies that write workers’ compensation policies in Illinois, which is more than in any other state. Illinois is desirable for these companies because there is little oversight and favorable laws that put their interests ahead of severely injured workers and their employers.
If there are to be any further changes to the state’s workers’ compensation laws, they must focus on insurance companies and the unjust premiums they charge business owners. Further reducing benefits for injured workers, lowering medical reimbursements and denying claims will only pad the insurance industry’s profits while unfairly shifting the cost of caring for those hurt on the job onto the backs of the injured workers themselves and to taxpayers through Medicaid and other publicly funded programs – something Illinois taxpayers cannot afford.
Wishing all of our friends at Glass & Korein a Happy Holiday Season and a spectacular New Year
Profiteering drives up workers’ compensation costs
In his budget address, Gov. Bruce Rauner said Illinois should emulate Massachusetts workers’ compensation system. However, following its lead would come at a great cost to our state’s taxpayers. Massachusetts doctors who care for those injured on the job are the lowest paid in the nation, which raises concerns about access to quality care.
If Illinois cuts the rate doctors are compensated to treat injured workers to match Massachusetts’ levels, a patient’s choice of physicians will be seriously limited and wait times for treatment are sure to rise significantly.
The governor missed a chance to condemn the real problem with workers’ compensation in Illinois: insurance company profiteering. The insurance companies have exploited insufficient oversight and, since a 2011 rewrite of state law, have taken most of the savings for themselves as profits, rather than passing along their reduced cost of doing business to employers.
According to a report last year from the Illinois Department of Insurance, workers’ comp insurers saw profits jump nearly 22 points between 2010 and 2014, from negative 11 percent to positive 11 percent, while between 2011 and 2015 they reduced their financial payouts on claims to below the national average.
There are 332 insurance companies writing workers’ compensation insurance in Illinois, more than any other state. Our state is an attractive place for them to do business precisely because of insufficient oversight and laws that put their interests ahead of Illinois’ workers and employers.
Cutting benefits, lowering medical reimbursements and denying more claims only further bolsters the insurance industry’s profits. These types of cuts would shift to taxpayers, through Medicaid and other publicly funded programs, the responsibility for the resulting medical bills and income support payments.
Legislative efforts concerning workers’ comp should focus not on further eroding the rights of the injured, but on improving workplace safety and oversight of workers’ comp insurers.
