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Legislation that would largely block out-of-state professional athletes from seeking workers' comp benefits in California is gaining ground on both sides.

New tracks, interactive risk scenarios, and a special 60 tips general session highlight the 2013 conference.

A focus on mobile workers and the advanced use of metrics are among the achievements cited for the winners of hearing loss prevention awards.

At present, there are approximately 5.5 million veterans of working age who have disabilities, but the number may be higher due to underreporting and underdiagnosis.

Safeway Inc., the third-largest retail grocery company in the country, is home to Bill Zachry. He has been at the company since 2001 and serves as its vice president and risk manager.

Bill Zachry has seen a side of the workers' comp system few in the industry have.

Mandatory utilization review, the lack of fee schedules, and major legislative reforms are having major ramifications for medical costs in the workers' comp system.

Alex Swedlow has no plans to scale back on doing research any time soon. In fact, the soon-to-be president of the California Workers' Compensation Institute says he is ready to embark on an ambitious research agenda over the next 12 months.

An enhanced focus on disability management, a special evening reception and awards presentation, and a new venue are among the changes coming to this year's conference. Two industry veterans are at the programming helm.

Legislation to further extend the federal backstop for private insurers on terrorism-related losses is officially before a House panel. The current law is due to expire next year, causing concern among insurers about policies renewing in January -- especially workers' comp.

On average, pharmaceuticals comprise about 19 percent of each dollar spent on medical costs in the workers' comp system, according to NCCI. But a Maine-based insurer reports its percentage is less than one-quarter of that.

A shift in focus from treating the loss of function to relieving pain explains much of the cost differences for workers' comp claims more than 20 years old, according to new research.

Eight workers' comp experts agree that opioids are still one of the biggest challenges facing practitioners. Other concerns include physician dispensing, comorbidities, and access to medical care.

Are workers' comp practitioners by and large using social media to improve the industry? It's a question several industry insiders hope to answer through a pair of surveys.

Doing business with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services got somewhat easier in 2012, according to a legal expert. But workers' comp practitioners should be attuned to upcoming decisions and actions by the agency that could require changes for Medicare set-asides.

Drug spending among workers' comp payers is relatively flat. That's the good news. The bad news is that concerns about the issue, especially opioids, is increasing, according to a new survey by a pharmacy benefit consortium.

Legislation passed by Congress will "help the Medicare process. It gives us a little more structure with regard to Medicare payments," said James Pocius, a shareholder with Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin in Philadelphia.

Doing business with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services got somewhat easier in 2012, according to a legal expert. But workers' comp practitioners should be attuned to upcoming decisions and actions by the agency that could require changes for Medicare set-asides.

Employers that have their top tier executives involved in pre- and post-loss efforts have a better chance of preventing and mitigating workplace injuries than companies that are uninvolved, say two workers' comp veterans.

The panel charged with advising OSHA on the whistleblower provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act is set to meet later this month. Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis announced the meeting date and the 12 new appointees.