OSIA Spring Newsletter

Transcription

1 OSIA Spring Newsletter Inside this issue: Executive Director 2 Calendar 3 President s letter continued 3 Dir. of Marketing & 4 New member article 4 Case Updates 9 National Conference 11 Check out all the pages for valuable information! President s Letter Time is sure flying by and spring is almost upon us. Spring is always a sign of hope, new ideas & beginnings. We will continue to observe the Commission so we will be able to provide relevant education at our 2015 Fall Conference. The 2014 Fall Conference brought the members an opportunity to address some issues that arose and how we could handle them. Now with the Legislative session in full swing we have to see what new bills are Spring 2015 being filed, what will continue to go through and how it will end up in May. OSIA is here going through the process, as voice for our membership. Conti. Pg 3 Volume 2, Issue 1 OSIA Breakfast Meeting - Friday March 13th Special points of interest: Case Updates Calendar Breakfast Meeting Sponsors New Members Vendor ads! RSVP By Friday March 6th

2 Page 2 Winter Newsletter Executive Director Report LEGISLATIVE UPDATE The legislative session began Monday, February 2 and will continue through the last Friday in May. The OSIA is representing your issues at the capitol everyday to protect your interests. We currently have 17 bills on our tracking list. You may click here ( ad207a3f cc155a82154aea8c8) to review the list and bills. The legislature is still trying to allow the provisions of Senate Bill 1062 to fully implement and improve the cost of workers compensation of Oklahoma. To this end, leadership is still trying to stem any bills that would have sweeping changes. The OSIA is working with leadership to amend the Self Insurers Guarantee Fund on issues dealing with the assessments. For the most part, we are simply working on some clarifying language and trying to insure that assessments only occur annually, if necessary, to help with your budgetary needs. There are also several bills that deal with the commission s use of executive session, budgetary issues and court reporters. The OSIA will work closely with members of the legislature on all of these bills. Breakfast with Commissioner John Doak Please join us for a breakfast meeting with Insurance Commissioner John Doak Friday March 13 th at 9:00 am. Commissioner Doak has done a wonderful job as our Insurance Commissioner and is always very interested in the self-insurer community. This will be a great opportunity to learn about the department s new role under Senate Bill I would also like to thank Healthsmart Casualty and all of our breakfast sponsors for hosting this event. Please remember that some of the best legislative information I can get is from our members out in the field dealing with issues every day. If you hear something or have a question about any legislative issue, please give me a call, text or shoot me an . I am here to represent your needs and encourage your input. Thank you for your continued participation and support of the Oklahoma Self Insurers Association. Patrick Gaines Cell: pgaines@coxinet.net Patrick Gaines Executive Director and Lobbyist, OSIA

3 Volume 1, Issue 2 Page 3 Calendar of Events March 13, 2015 Breakfast Meeting 8:30 am Breakfast Healthsmart Casualty OK. Insurance Commissioner John Doak June 24th - 26th, 2015 Oklahoma Safety & Health Conference Mission Possible Embassy Suites, Norman OK May 31st - June 3th, 2015 National Council of Self Insurers 2015 Annual Meeting St. Pete Beach, FL July 2015 Breakfast Meeting TBA Tulsa, OK October 15th, 2015 OSIA Golf Tournament TBA October 16th, 2015 OSIA Fall Conference Embassy Suites Norman, OK September 21st, 2016 OSIA Golf Tournament Cherokee Golf Course Continued from pg 1. Patrick Gaines, our Executive Director and Lobbyist, is right in the middle addressing our concerns and fighting for what is beneficial to the selfinsured employer. Hopefully you have all had a chance to meet Mr. Gaines and or speak with him. Your voice is needed, so please give him a call or him if you have any questions with the needs of the self-insured and high deductible. Patrick will have a Legislative Update inside the newsletter, please see his contact information. OSIA wants to make sure you are all attending the March 13 th Breakfast Meeting with the Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak. Mr. Doak will be giving everyone the OID s update and role under the Workers Compensation Bill. Patrick Gaines will be giving a Legislative Update. Please make sure to RSVP by March 6 th and bring a non-member also. OSIA is working hard to have all self-insured and high deductible businesses dealing with Workers Compensation a member. Together we learn, exchange ideas, and become stronger with our voice. I hope to see you all there, please check inside for all the details. I would like to welcome a new Board Member, Jason Boesch with OAEC. Jason Boesch was appointed by the Board to fill a vacant term due to the resignation of Chris Meyers. Please welcome Jason to the OSIA and we look forward to working together. If you have any questions about your membership please give Wendy Gerdes a call at Membership dues were sent out in December and we have been working hard to get everyone s information up to date. The new 2015 directory we hope to have ready for the Breakfast Meeting or shortly thereafter. Thank you to all the advertisers in it, your support is greatly appreciated. The OSIA is hard at work on the Fall Conference in October. Please mark your calendar for October 15 th and 16 th at the Embassy Suites in Norman. If you have some ideas on topics you want to see addressed please let Wendy Gerdes know, her! OSIA is here for you and wants your input. Cannot wait to see what the education committee is working on. September 22nd, 2016 OSIA Fall Conference Hard Rock Hotel & Casino See you Friday March 13 th! Charles Folkner OSIA President

4 Welcome New Members The Holmes Organisation. Inc S Boulder, Suite 1000 Tulsa, OK Contact: Cheryl King Claims Consultant Phone Fax Cell cking@theholmesorg.com Associated Underwriters, Inc. P.O. Box Oklahoma City, Ok Barney Welch Telephone: X 103 Fax: Director of Marketing & Membership Report Happy Spring Everyone, I want to say Thank you to everyone renewing their OSIA membership dues. Your support is amazing and appreciated greatly. Hopefully you have received your 2015 membership dues certificate and the new OSIA logo cling that you can adhere to your window or glass door. Showing off your OSIA membership to others is important. OSIA is here to help you in your business in many ways: education, sharing ideas with others, meeting vendors that can help you, Lobbying, newsletters, and discount to the National Council of Self Insurers Conference. The first of 2 Breakfast Meetings is Friday March 13th, hosted by Healthsmart Casualty in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak is our quest speaker, giving our members an update on the OID and their role under the Workers Compensation bill. Patrick Gaines, OSIA s Executive Director will be addressing the membership on the Legislative Issues this year. Valuable information for everyone, so please RSVP to attend. Registration is free for members and please bring a non-member self insured along, spread the word. Thank you to our 2 Gold Level Sponsors, Edmond Orthopedic Group and CorVel! Thank you to our 4 Co-Breakfast sponsors; MIDLANDS, Redbud Physical Therapy, United Safety & Claims, & Human Performance Centers. Thank you to every-one of you for making this Breakfast meeting a success. Each of the Sponsors time & support is truly appreciated and we know they will be very pleased to receive your thanks when you attend the meeting. The Tulsa Breakfast Meeting will be in July, we are working on a location and date to be announced shortly. Let me know if you are interested in being a sponsor. OSIA is working hard for the Fall Conference already. We are very excited to be at the Embassy Suites in Norman this year. The dates are October 15th for the Golf Tournament and October 16th for the Conference. Call or me if you need anything! Thank you!! Wendy Gerdes - Director of Marketing & Membership osia@oklahmaselfinsurers.com

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6 New Member - The Holmes Organisation One of the largest independent agencies in the Midwest, The Holmes Organisation serves clients in 48 states and abroad. Founded in 1965, the Tulsa-based firm employs more than 60 insurance professionals and represents most major U.S. insurance companies and hundreds of non-standard insurance companies. The firm s practice areas extend across risk management, commercial insurance, employee benefits, 401k, life, and personal insurance. While Holmes provides insurance, employee benefits and wealth management solutions, we take it a step further we recognize and quantify risk. The Holmes Organisation employs a proprietary methodology called Beyond Insurance, an ongoing process that helps the firm identify, address and manage risks dynamically, as they change. Holmes also offers employers unique programs to improve the delivery of healthcare to their employees from Direct Contracting, where companies can take an active approach in controlling the quality, service and price of healthcare benefits, to the innovative $0 Card, which helps employers save costs and offer employees transparent pricing for medical procedures. Contact: Cheryl King Claims Consultant The Holmes Organisation, Inc Phone Fax Cell cking@theholmesorg.com

7 Join OSIA at the Breakfast Meeting March 13th With Guest Speaker Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak In January 2011, John D. Doak became the 12 th Insurance Commissioner of Oklahoma. He was sworn in to office for a second term on January 12, 2015, after receiving 77 percent of the vote. Doak graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Shortly after graduation, Doak opened a successful insurance business in Tulsa. As his career thrived, Doak worked in numerous roles within the insurance industry. He served as an executive for several risk and insurance service companies including Marsh, Aon, HNI and Ascension. Under Commissioner Doak s leadership, each year the Oklahoma Insurance Department has operated under budget. In the last four years, the Department has returned a total of $22.5 million in unspent funds to the state treasury and has generated more than $1 billion in revenue for the State of Oklahoma. As an active member of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Doak is the Vice Chair of the Property and Casualty Insurance Committee, the Chair of the American Indian and Alaska Native Liaison Committee, and a member of the International Insurance Relations Committee. Doak also shapes important national insurance policy issues as a member of the Government Relations Leadership Council. Doak is committed to protecting all Oklahomans by his pledge to visit all 77 counties annually. During his visits, which he has done each year since taking office, he promotes public awareness of important insurance issues through education and community outreach. Doak and his wife Debby live in Tulsa with their children, Zack and Kasey. They are members of the South Tulsa Baptist Church. Would you like to place an ad in the OSIA newsletter? 1/2 page ads are per issue Full page ads are $ per issue Give it a try! Call or Wendy Gerdes osia@oklahomaselfinsurers.com

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9 Workers Compensation Update: Oklahoma Workers Compensation law has changed several times over the past few years. Most recently, and most significantly, Title 85A was enacted for injuries occurring on or after February 1, This legislation did away with the Workers Compensation Court for injuries after February 1, 2014, and replaced the Court with the Workers Compensation Commission. With the enactment of the Administrative Workers Compensation Act there have been many changes in benefits, definitions and procedures. Some of the changes are long needed; however, there have been many changes that have caused concern as it relates to the erosion of exclusive remedy. There has now been an Order from a Judge of the District Court denying a defense Motion to Dismiss an apparent work related injury. In Pottawatomie County, a judge has allowed a case to proceed in District Court based on the definition of compensable injury. Compensability injury, as found in Title 85A, Section 2 (9)(a), is defined as follows: "Compensable injury means damage or harm to the physical structure of the body, or prosthetic appliances, including eyeglasses, contact lenses, or hearing aids, caused solely as the result of either an accident, cumulative trauma or occupational disease arising out of the course and scope of employment. An "accident" means an event involving factors external to the employee that: (1) was unintended, unanticipated, unforeseen, unplanned and unexpected. In this case, the judge has ruled that since the apparent work related injury was foreseeable, it didn t fit the definition of a work related injury as defined by statute, therefore, the Motion to Dismiss the District Court action was denied. The injured worker s attorney is now free to prosecute the case outside of Workers Compensation. This has been concern since enactment of Title 85A. This matter has been appealed directly to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. However, if this ruling is allowed to stand the implications are far reaching, as injured employees could argue that almost all injuries are foreseeable in an attempt to move many cases to District Court. We expect other provisions to be challenged as well. As always, we will keep you advised as the case progresses Patrick S. Parr Attorney at Law McAnany, Van Cleave & Phillips, P.A South Lewis, Suite 225 Tulsa, OK Main: Fax: pparr@mvplaw.com

10 This article was only available by receiving the newsletter in the mail. Membership Only.

11 National Council of Self Insurers Annual Meeting The Conference is May 31-June 3, 2015 at Loews Don Cesar Hotel in St. Pete Beach, FL Member price is $675 and non-member is $975. These are early registration prices. Late registration prices are $775 and $1075 beginning on May 10 th. OSIA members are also National Council Members. If you have any questions, you may contact Dave Kaplan, Executive Director, by at dave.kaplan@natcouncil.com or by phone at Next Breakfast Meeting will be in July, in the Tulsa area. Looking for a location, do you have one we can use? Topics to be discussed will be the end of year legislative update and something more. Do you have any ideas? Share with us! Sponsor information will be available shortly. Call the OSIA office if you need anything Thank you!!

12 Member Benefits It is important to keep your membership dues up to date. Receive: *Discount to Annual Conference *Educational Breakfast Meetings for Free *Lobbyist - Your Voice *Membership Directory Listing *Golf Tournament *Quarterly Newsletter *Vendor Member discount for Booth *Vendor Members Only can sponsor/attend Breakfast Meeting *National Council Discount for Annual Conference *OSIA Website OSIA is here for their membership! If not a member, you can join today! Your OSIA Dues are due! Please keep current so you do not miss anything! Thank you. OSIA P.O. Box Oklahoma City, OK Phone: osia@oklahomaselfinsurers.com Wendy Gerdes - Director of Membership & Marketing