Albany's Loss-of-Use Claims Spiked in 2017
Friday, June 22, 2018 | 0
Payouts for loss-of-use claims in Albany spiked by 1,700% in 2017, leaving the city with almost $2 million in payouts to injured city workers, according to a local news report.
But it could have been worse. City officials said a third-party administrator was able to shave $282,000 in administrative fees from workers' compensation claims, the Albany Times Union reported this week.
Part of the reason for the spike in benefits payments may be a change in state law, which will reduce benefits in coming years. Claimants may have rushed to file claims in 2017 to reap higher rewards, officials said.
“We’ve seen that before. In advance of an anticipated change, the attorneys of claimants try to lock in certain benefits,” said Michael Kenneally, executive director at the state Municipal Workers’ Compensation Alliance.
A 2016 audit found that the city's previous claims administrator, POMCO, charged the city fees that should have been included in the contract price, the newspaper reported. Albany asked for new vendor proposals and hired Troy-based Triad Group to administer claims, which cut costs by $282,000 for 2017.
City auditor Susan Rizzo urged city leaders to take it a step further and reduce compensation costs by adding a workplace safety and training program, and a fraud-surveillance program.
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