The question is, “Is there anything right?”
I wrote two previous columns on ICBC’s financial woes — one on a seniors discount that costs an estimated $100 million annually, another on the climbing cost of litigation.
Those were but two contributors to the corporation’s financial woes.
There are many strands that one can pull to explain ICBC’s unravelling.
Readers responded. Some, no surprise, were civilians complaining
about what they felt was ICBC’s unfair tactics. But several were from
insiders to the process — lawyers, doctors and claim adjusters. They
identified a problem affecting ICBC’s bottom line the public never hears
about.
It was the high cost of medical reports.
Wrote one senior ICBC injury adjuster, whose job is to settle lawyer-represented claims:
“Lawyers routinely hire experts (doctors) to produce reports to
support how badly injured the individual is/was from the accident. It is
quite common to have two to five different experts report on a single
file. These experts charge between $4,000-$6,000 to examine the patient
and write a report. ICBC will have to hire their own experts, typically
one to two per file for the same costs as above.
“We often settle a claim, for example, between $50,000 to $100,000
and then pay on top of that between $30,000 and $40,000 for costs and
disbursements. So not only are the lawyers making tidy sums, but the
medical experts make a fair chunk off the litigation process as well.”.....
........There is a large number of medical professionals in B.C. that are making
well in excess of $1 million per year from writing medical reports now.......
Source/more: http://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/pete-mcmartin-medical-reports-make-up-major-chunk-of-icbc-expenditure-insiders-reveal?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_source=Twitter&utm_term=Autofeed#link_time=1481157840
CIN is a non-profit Advocate for Insurance and Health Care Reform. Postings are cut/paste from other sources. @Cinsurancenews #rally4accidentvictims #ABPetition #CPPbacklog
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Assessors Medical opinion evidence, libel and public interest case
The latest stories in the media:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/12/08/md-who-wrote-misleading-insurance-report-under-investigation.htmlhttp://news.nationalpost.com/news/ontario-doctor-misrepresented-views-on-catastrophic-injuries-to-benefit-insurer-judge-rules
The original media story: http://www.insurancebusiness.ca/ca/news/auto/medical-files-routinely-altered-to-suit-insurers-claims-fair-186692.aspx?p=1
more info see: http://www.fairassociation.ca/the-independent-medical-examination-imeie/ and http://www.fairassociation.ca/ime-providers-adverse-comments/
Ontario Health-care System overburdened,underfunded,mismanaged
Ontario Doctors Like Me Won't Play Along With Patients First Act...
...This health-care system is so overburdened, underfunded and mismanaged that it no longer provides patients with reliable, timely or even universal access to care....Source/more: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/nadia-alam/ontarios-doctors-walk-awa_b_13521602.html
Regulation changes deny accident victim adequate benefits, family says
That injury
classification — the criteria for which changed the same day of
Adam Bari's accident — means he is eligible for only a fraction of
the compensation they feel will be needed to finance his recovery.
Source/more:
If He Crashed 12
Hours Earlier, He Wouldn't Face Bankruptcy
They say timing is
everything. That seems to be distinctly, horribly true in the case of
Adam Bari. The 34-year-old Canadian man was riding his motorcycle
June 1 when he was T-boned by a car, CBC reports. Bari's family is
now facing the possibility of bankruptcy, but that wouldn't be if the
crash had happened just 12 hours earlier.
Doctors worry about patient privacy as they speculate on government plans for eHealth
The province’s
doctors are expressing “grave concerns” about the Liberal
government’s plans for eHealth Ontario.
In the wake of
Health Minister Eric Hoskins’ decision to ask Premier Kathleen
Wynne’s privatization guru, Ed Clark, to appraise the monetary
value of the electronic health records agency, the Ontario Medical
Association is sounding the alarm over patient privacy.
Source/more:
Doctors worry about
patient privacy as they speculate on government plans for eHealth
https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2016/10/13/doctors-worry-about-patient-privacy-as-they-speculate-on-government-plans-for-ehealth.html
CEO of nurses' association denounces LHSC for sending letter about public meeting it's hosting Friday
“(This) is a
blatant attempt to intimidate (the Registered Nurses’ Association
of Ontario) into staying silent on matters of interest to our members
and the public. We recognize it as a bullying tactic and we will not
be influenced by it in any way, shape or form,” Doris Grinspun,
chief executive of the nurses’ association, wrote Thursday to
Murray Glendining, chief executive of London Health Sciences Centre,
and hospital board chair Tom Gergely. The Free Press obtained the
letter.
Source/more:
Dear Doctors, Here's Why It's Unhelpful When You Call My Pain 'Discomfort'
You know how doctors
always use the word “discomfort” to describe our pain? Instead of
recognizing that we are in agony, instead of calling our pain what it
is… pain… they often downplay the language they use to describe
the severity of what we are feeling.
Source/more:
Most Ontarians say justice system ‘broken’: survey
The Action Group on
Access to Justice (TAG) asked Ontarians to describe the centuries-old
system in a recent survey. In a poll of 1,500 adults by Abacus Data
Inc. in August, the verdict the advocacy body received was damning:
78 per cent called Ontario’s justice system “old-fashioned,” 71
per cent said it was “intimidating.” “Confusing,”
“inefficient” and “broken” was how more than 60 per cent of
respondents described it.
Source/more:
Chronic Pain Can Cause Long-Lasting Damage To Your Brain
Chronic pain can
damage and change your brain. If you live with chronic pain, you will
know how devastating and wide-ranging the effects can be on your
mental processing speed, your mood, and your memory.
Source/more:
Broker Negligence Claims: Are You Adequately Covered?
Is your insurance
broker adequately inquiring about your insurance needs? With the
substantial decline of available medical, rehabilitation and
attendant care benefits from $2 million to $1 million for
catastrophically injured individuals, this is a question that will be
asked more often in the realm of motor vehicle insurance. The recent
cutbacks to the accident benefits regime in Ontario are expected to
have profound effects on those seriously injured in accidents.
Source/more:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)