NCOIL to Discuss Problems Facing Workers’ Compensation Insurance Industry at 2017 Annual Meeting

MANASQUAN, N.J., Oct. 11 -- The National Conference of Insurance Legislators issued the following news release:

The NCOIL Workers' Compensation Insurance Committee will meet at the 2017 Annual Meeting and discuss topics including Physician-Dispensed Pharmaceuticals and Drug Compounding.

In the last decade, many workers' compensation jurisdictions in the United States have made legislative or regulatory changes to rules governing reimbursement for physician-dispensed pharmaceuticals, with the intent to reduce higher prices paid to physicians than to pharmacies for drugs they dispense. These price focused reforms targeted physician-dispensed repackaged drugs by capping the prices paid to physicians based on the manufacturer's average wholesale price (AWP) of the original drug. More recently, several states have also made changes to limit physician-dispensed prescriptions for certain drugs or to a shortened time frame.

"I am proud that NCOIL continues to examine new topics of interest to our members" said KY Rep. Steve Riggs, NCOIL President. "Insurance policy is always evolving and it's important we stay in front of changes for legislative initiatives."

Pharmacy compounding is a practice in which a licensed pharmacist combines, mixes, or alters ingredients in response to a prescription to create a medication tailored to the medical needs of an individual patient. It's also a practice that is under scrutiny by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because of instances in which medications, primarily injectable medications that are intended to be sterile, have endangered public health.

"This continues the practice of discussing emerging issues in a timely manner at NCOIL meetings" said Commissioner Tom Considine, NCOIL CEO. "Our goal is to educate legislators and determine if a legislative solution is appropriate."

Among the speakers are Kathy Fischer of the Workers' Compensation Research Institute and Joseph Paduda from Health Strategy Associates. Their biographies can be accessed here - https://www.wcrinet.org/staff/ms.-kathy-fisher and https://www.healthstrategyassoc.com/paduda.html.

"These are topics that are worthy of our discussion during the Workers' Compensation Insurance Committee" said PA Rep. Marguerite Quinn, Chair of the NCOIL Workers' Compensation Insurance Committee. "I look forward to hearing from experts on these topics and proposed legislative solutions."

The Workers Compensation Insurance Committee is scheduled to meet on Friday, November 17th at 4:45 p.m. at the Phoenix Grand Sheraton. Registration is open and can be found at ncoil.org/register-now.