Kentucky Approves Mining Increases Based on Health Care Reform

Kentucky has become the first of the nation's major coal-mining states to approve a recommendation by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) to increase loss costs based on a black lung provision in Congress' health care reform bill.Insurance Commissioner Sharon P. Clark on Monday granted formal approval of NCCI's filing to increase loss costs for classification code 1005, which covers surface mines, by 3.8% effective July 1.Clark also approved NCCI's recommended change to class code 1016, which will increase rates for workers in underground mines by 6.2%.NCCI fi...