About 18 months ago, the COVID-19 pandemic began to upend industries and daily lives across the globe. In addition to the difficulties that came with lockdowns and the virus itself, other challenges have presented themselves. The impact on the workers’ compensation insurance industry is, even now, not yet fully known.
The past 18 months have not been easy, to be sure. Many things have been learned and extensive progress was made in terms of developing precautionary measures to help combat the spread of the novel coronavirus. Vaccines became widely available in recent months, allowing more people in the United States to access them.
However, many questions and unknowns have surrounded COVID-19 and still remain, even now. It appears that a new variant of the virus, commonly referred to as the Delta Variant, has emerged. Early indications seem to signal that it may be more contagious than the original strains of the virus. It may also impact children. No concrete answers seem apparent when it comes to whether the vaccines protect against newer strains of the virus.
The many questions still surrounding COVID-19 make it more important than ever that insurance companies administering workers’ compensation claims take a proactive approach to business. By implementing processes and procedures that can help hold down costs, your insurance company can better navigate the unknowns of the current landscape.
Working with a third-party administrator (TPA) is one efficient way to be proactive about workers’ compensation claims. A TPA with the right industry experience will be able to help your insurance company identify ways to improve efficiency within your claims processes.
For instance, highly experienced TPAs will often have extensive networks. This means that your claimants are able to access quality care at rates that have been pre-negotiated. In addition to providing quality care for claimants, this also helps hold down your claim costs. This can translate over time to an improved bottom line.
Some TPAs will also implement a pre-approval process for all physician-prescribed services. This can mean that your claimants will no longer have to pay out of their own pocket in order to receive the appropriate prescriptions. This process brings many benefits, including freeing up examiners’ time since reimbursement paperwork would be eliminated. It also cuts down on claimant frustration, in turn driving up claimant satisfaction scores as well as retention rates.
Partnering with a TPA will bring about many helpful benefits for your insurance company and the claimants that your examiners work with on a daily basis. Please call Rosanne Brugnoni at 586-755-3830 ext. 3771 to schedule time to explore how your insurance company can take a more proactive approach to work comp claims, even when COVID-19 has made things uncertain.
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