Deconstructing Comp

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In this episode, Yvonne and Rafael talk with Faith Mason, Industry Speaker, DEI Consultant, and Vice President of Strategic Analytics at Arch Insurance. 

Find out what Faith studied in college, the path she took that brought her into the insurance and workers' compensation industry, and how she has shaped her career since she got here. Discover Faith's fascinating journey that underscores our theme: no matter your background, there is a spot for you in the workers' compensation industry!

We take a pretty deep dive (way past 30 minutes!) in our conversation with Faith. Our discussion focuses on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB), something we are all passionate about.  We also chat about food, traveling, and so much more!

Come along with us and let's get to know Faith. She is a brilliant star in our insurance and workers' comp universe!

Articles about DEIB:

Marsh study on DEIB https://www.marsh.com/us/risks/global-risk/insights/excellence-in-risk-management-xviii.html

https://hbr.org/2022/06/stop-making-the-business-case-for-diversity#

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/6-key-practices-advancing-diversity-equity-and-inclusion

¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or follow us on Twitter @deconstructcomp 

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Dr. Les Kertay, Ph.D., Vice President of Behavioral Health at Axiom Medical, joins Yvonne and Rafael to discuss mental health and well-being within the workers' compensation system. 

Mental health issues have long been avoided within workers' compensation. We are starting to discuss it more frequently, post-Covid, but we have a long way to go before workers' compensation fully embraces how to manage mental health as a component of a workers' compensation claim. 

In this episode, we discuss with Dr. Kertay why there has been such a reluctance to incorporate mental health in workers' compensation claims. When a person gets injured at work, stress and anxiety naturally increase along with uncertainty and, in some cases, fear of losing their job. This can easily contribute to deteriorating mental health. Yet, there is still resistance to accepting mental health as part of a workers' comp claim. 

According to Dr. Kertay, claims will go longer and cost more if we ignore the mental well-being of injured workers. 

So why the continued resistance? Well, as with all things workers' compensation, the answer is complex. 

Let's go explore mental health and well-being with Dr. Les Kertay!

¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or follow us on Twitter @deconstructcomp 

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Follow along with Yvonne Guibert and Rafael Gonzalez as they chat with Ramona Tanabe, Executive Vice President and Counsel at Workers' Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). They explore her educational background and career in workers' compensation doing public policy research.

Ramona gives us a glimpse of her work with WCRI, where she has worked for over two decades! Plus, we'll get a sneak peek at what we have to look forward to at the upcoming WCRI Annual Issues & Research Conference in Phoenix, AZ. 

What is WCRI? Founded in 1983, the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) is an independent, not-for-profit research organization that strives to help those interested in improving the workers' compensation system by providing highly-regarded, objective data and analysis.

The Institute does not take positions on the issues it researches; rather, it provides information obtained through studies and data collection efforts, which conform to recognized scientific methods. Objectivity is further ensured through rigorous, unbiased peer review procedures.

Find out what Ramona likes to do in her spare time...she says she has a "freakish" desire to explore _______________! Listen to find out what it is!

We are celebrating #womenshistorymonth with one of our very own trailblazers in workers' compensation! 

Learn more about Ramona Tanabe and WCRI here: https://www.wcrinet.org/

¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or follow us on Twitter @deconstructcomp 

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In the first episode of Season 3, Yvonne and Rafael sit down with Bill Zachry to chat about:

• his education and career choices
• why he chose the insurance / workers' compensation industry
• even though it has been proven that doing the right thing saves money (get the injured worker the care they need, then get them back to work ASAP) why the industry is still resistant
• how identifying at-risk injured workers early on and focusing on getting them the care they need ASAP saves employers 40% on claims costs
• a paper* he co-authored called "Chronic Pain Explained," available for download at WorkCompCentral; it is a wonderful educational paper written especially for claims professionals, or anyone who wants to have a better understanding of chronic pain conditions and how to manage them within the workers' compensation industry 
• and so much more!

While we didn't get to drill down into any one particular issue, we did touch on two of the issues we highlighted for this year: claims handling challenges and the need for quality education for all stakeholders. Bill is one of the brightest minds in the industry, and it's always a fascinating conversation. If you don't know him, we highly suggest you connect with him ASAP! 

*Here is a link to the paper at WorkCompCentral that we mentioned in regards to chronic pain: https://bit.ly/WCC-ChronicPainPaperJan23

¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or follow us on Twitter @deconstructcomp 

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For Season 3, Yvonne and Rafael identified ten issues to frame conversations with guests:

1. The great talent shortage. What are we doing to find and retain good people? We will face this issue for the foreseeable future, which will significantly impact the healthcare industry, including workers' comp. 
   
   
2. Mental health and well-being. Mental health issues continue to dominate as a leading societal problem in the US. There is increasing demand to prioritize mental health and consider how it impacts injured workers' ability to recover. What are we doing as an industry to support our professionals and their well-being? 
   
   
3. Economics of inflation and a looming recession. According to an article at Milliman.com, inflation hit a 40-year high last year, and we are expected to go into a recession later in 2023. We'll discuss inflation/recession economics with some data-minded friends and how it affects workers’ compensation. 
   
   
4. New or significant workers’ compensation rules/regulations/statutes. Several states have new or emerging rules and regulations impacting workers' compensation, and we will discuss these with a few guests.
   
   
5. Challenges facing the healthcare system. There are several significant issues outside of the great talent shortage, facing the US healthcare system: 
   • is our hospital system in crisis? 
   • continued issues related to Covid19
   • medical costs - the rising cost of drugs, medical inflation, increased facility costs
   • chronic pain* that impacts 1 in 5 US citizens
6. Technology and artificial intelligence (AI). Are we doing all we can to use technology and AI to handle claims more efficiently? Can we use technology to improve the experience for injured workers? Can technology help lighten the load for claims professionals by handling repetitive tasks, and incorporating evidence-based medical guidelines into the claims process, particularly in the management of non-catastrophic claims? 
   
   
7. Claims handling challenges. What’s happening at the claim handler’s desk? How is it different today compared to the past? What is the average caseload? Is it manageable? Is our industry ready to fully embrace an advocacy model of claims handling? We look forward to discussing this on several levels:
   • return-to-work barriers
   • reprising the adjuster’s role and how they do their work (gig workers; caseloads, and more)
   • friction points to the claims-handling process
8. The need for quality education for all industry stakeholders. There is an increased demand for education as we manage the talent gap due to many experienced professionals leaving the industry. We must prioritize education for all stakeholders.
    
9. Our changing workforce needs. While experienced professionals are leaving in big numbers, we are struggling to hire and retain younger workers. What can we do to encourage more young professionals to join our industry? Are we ready to let go of decades-old practices to evolve and attract today’s young professionals? 
   
   
10. The issue of lagging diversity.  Our communities have become increasingly more diverse over the past few decades, but our workplaces have not. This is true in every industry. There have been improvements for sure, but we have a long way to go. We'll explore this topic with several guests who are equally passionate about DEIB issues. 

*Here is a link to the paper at WorkCompCentral that we mentioned in regards to chronic pain: https://bit.ly/WCC-ChronicPainPaperJan23

¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or follow us on Twitter @deconstructcomp 

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Yvonne and Rafael wrap up Season 2 of Deconstructing Comp with their thoughts about guests, lessons learned along the way, and considerations for Season 3. Workers' compensation may be a small industry, but it certainly has a vast pool of interesting professionals and endless issues to ponder. 

¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or follow us on Twitter @deconstructcomp 

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Jennifer Morris Jones, defense attorney, is an amazing leader in the workers' compensation and insurance industry.  A partner in Cranfill Sumner's Raleigh office, and a member of the Risk Management and Workers’ Compensation Practice Group, she is also a North Carolina Board Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialist.

If you know Jennifer, you know she spends a good deal of her time collaborating with others to speak about important workers' compensation topics, and she offers her expertise in many educational forums. 

Jennifer serves as an Advisory Board member for the National Workers’ Compensation Review, presenting at the WCI Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. She is a contributing member to many industry organizations like DRI, WCDI, CLM, Alliance of Women in Workers' Comp, and more. She also maintains an AV rating with Martindale-Hubbell, a prestigious peer review rating that recognizes attorneys who have reached high levels of skill and integrity. 

In October 2022, Jennifer earned the distinction of a Comp Laude® Award in the defense attorney category! 

Spend some time with us as we talk to Jennifer to find out what she studied in school, how she landed in workers' compensation, and what she sees coming next, and perhaps learn a few things you might not know about her! 

¿Estan listos para visitar con Jennifer? ¡Vamanos!
Are you ready to visit Jennifer? Let's go!

For more about Jennifer and her work, follow these links: 

https://www.cshlaw.com/attorneys/jennifer-morris-jones/

https://complaude.com/

https://www.wci360.com/

¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or follow us on Twitter @deconstructcomp 

Send us Fan Mail

And it continues...

Just when you think we are done, we're not! Be sure to listen to the very end for rare "outtakes" that really should have been cut, but it's so damn funny we left it in. 

There's no way to describe this one. Kristen Chavez and Holmes Lilley definitely break the mold! 

In this episode, we get to know Kristen and Holmes and we chat about life, laughs, hard work, change, the workers' compensation industry, more laughs,  developing friendships, and working together to raise money for Kids' Chance of California. And did I say laugh? Yes, dear listener, you will laugh! There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments as we share stories, poke fun at each other, and so much more. 

Let's go! 

Links mentioned in this episode...

Employers Defense Group - the law firm Holmes Lilley founded, based in Anaheim, California: 
https://edglaw.com/

Kids' Chance of California - Kristen Chavez is currently President 
To make a donation - 
https://www.kidschanceca.org/donate.html

To learn about recent scholarships awarded and how to submit an application - 
https://www.kidschanceca.org/scholarships.html

Comp Laude Awards and Gala
https://complaude.com/

¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or follow us on Twitter @deconstructcomp

¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or follow us on Twitter @deconstructcomp 

Send us Fan Mail

There's no way to describe this one. Kristen Chavez and Holmes Lilley definitely break the mold! 

In this episode, we get to know Kristen and Holmes and we chat about life, laughs, hard work, change, the workers' compensation industry, more laughs,  developing friendships, and working together to raise money for Kids' Chance of California. And did I say laugh? Yes, dear listener, you will laugh! There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments as we share stories, poke fun at each other, and so much more. 

Let's go! 

Links mentioned in this episode...

Employers Defense Group - the law firm Holmes Lilley founded, based in Anaheim, California: 
https://edglaw.com/

Kids' Chance of California - Kristen Chavez is currently President 
To make a donation - 
https://www.kidschanceca.org/donate.html

To learn about recent scholarships awarded and how to submit an application - 
https://www.kidschanceca.org/scholarships.html

Comp Laude Awards and Gala
https://complaude.com/

¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or follow us on Twitter @deconstructcomp 

Send us Fan Mail

We are so excited for you to meet our new friend Clerissa, a younger professional in our industry working for Injury Management Organization (IMO), based in the Dallas area of Texas. 

Kudos to Catherine Benavidez and IMO for recognizing Clerissa's talent, and making a spot for her to bring her on board with the company. She is a vibrant young woman putting herself out there, reaching for the stars, embracing servant leadership, and influencing others!  WOW!

Come learn about YRPs and ORPs - 2 new acronyms, yay! 

She's looking to connect with other professionals and LOVES the workers' compensation industry! Can you believe it? 

Listen up, folks! Young people CAN come into our industry, enjoy the work, and shocker, want to stay and make a career.  

To all of our "seasoned professional" listeners, we need to work harder to find and bring more people like Clerissa into our space.  Let's keep doing what we need to make our industry more attractive to these young professionals. 

Let's go! What a fun conversation!

Resources to check out: 

Young Risk Professionals - https://www.youngriskprofessionals.org/
The Transitions - https://thetransitions.org/
Alliance of Women in Workers' Compensation - https://allianceofwomen.org/
Rise Professionals - https://riseprofessionals.com/

¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or follow us on Twitter @deconstructcomp