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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.

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.

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.

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.

As veterans have returned home from Afghanistan and Iraq to a difficult job market, many have faced steep challenges in shifting from military to civilian life.

A unique recruitment program now includes more than 100 companies. Northrup Grumman developed its Injured Military Pursuing Assisted Career Transition program to provide career transition support to disabled military service members and their families.

Looks like legislation vetoed by the governor last year may be back on the table soon. Republican lawmakers are again promising to introduce legislation to force claims for occupational diseases to go through the workers' comp system.

This year's National Ergonomics Conference and Expo saw excitement building over new products designed to reduce pain and improve efficiency among desk workers. Armed with ballots, attendees walked the expo floor and voted for the new products they believe offer the best opportunity to increase productivity and profitability while improving workplace health and safety.

"Marijuana remains a drug listed in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. It remains unacceptable for any safety-sensitive employee subject to drug testing under the Department of Transportation's drug testing regulations to use marijuana."

"The California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation is pleased to announce the unanimous election of Commissioner Martin Brady as the Chair of the Commission for 2013," said the commission in a statement.

Employers seeking to cut their workers' comp costs might want to ramp up their drug testing programs or implement them if they don't have them already.

Employers considering eliminating prehiring drug tests may want to first ponder one company's 14-month ordeal. Its decision led to staggering statistics and skyrocketing costs for its workers' comp program -- possibly as much as $2 million.

While home-based employment can be a win-win for employers and workers, legal experts offer cautionary insights.

The California Workers' Compensation Institute has received approval from state regulators for updates to its pamphlets and posting notices that workers' comp payers use to meet requirements under the law.

Companies with human resources and risk management departments need to get the lines of communication going ASAP or risk major liabilities, says a disability management/return-to-work expert.

Employers may unknowingly violate privacy laws by integrating their absence management programs, says Richard Pimentel.

Should drivers who can't meet a hearing standard be permitted to drive commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce? It's a question a federal agency is considering.

Several large employers have told Oklahoma officials they may leave the state if workers' comp reform is not "aggressively addressed in the next legislation session," according to the state's insurance commissioner.