In The Future of Workers’ Compensation in California and Across the Nation, David DePaolo, president of WorkCompCentral, stressed the importance of reforming the healthcare and worker’s compensation system into an incentivized environment focusing on returning workers to gainful, productive activity.

Those who are disturbed by the current social and economic implications of workers’ compensation can help ensure that positive change occurs to drive an evolution from a mentality of disability entitlement into a system of ability-based productive rewards. With this change they are capable of innovating new thinking, new strategies, and new ideas to enable a reform of our healthcare. DePaolo described the key factor of motivation in inspiring change in both individuals and organizations, and recommended the following ways to start moving forward now:

• Form an effective lobbying group apart from the normal groups in Sacramento (i.e., not the California Chamber of Commerce).
• Negotiate with all involved players to design a new system of positive rewards.
• Get rid of the mountains of scary, ridiculous legal notices that compel injured workers to seek legal counsel.
• Demand accountability and service from the Division of Workers’ Compensation. Employers pay a surcharge to fund the DWC, an amount that has grown 60% in two years, but offices are closed an additional two days a month even though DWC is not tied to the General Fund.

An audio recording and presentation materials from this session are available for purchase here.