Deconstructing Comp

Send us Fan Mail

Joe Paduda joins us to explain the basic framework of our workers' compensation system. In this episode, we discuss why our system is so complicated and some of the key features of several states. 

While Yvonne tries to keep the conversation focused on basics, Ralph and Joe wander on a few tangents, such as discussing the potential of a federalized workers' compensation system. Joe explains why that is not likely to happen and they explore Medicare and Medicaid components.

Whether you are new to workers' comp or are a seasoned industry professional, this is a fun conversation that reviews some basic elements of our system and we introduce a few core concepts and terms such as frequency, severity, medical, indemnity, and administrative expense. 

Joe tells us what he likes about workers' compensation and it is a key element of why we have such good people in the system and why they work hard to make it better every day. 

You'll have to find us on YouTube and watch the video of this episode to see the cameo appearance of Joe's dog Oakley!

Check out Joe's blog on Substack here: 

https://joepaduda.substack.com/

You can find more information Joe has shared over the years at his original website Health Strategy Associates:

https://healthstrategyassoc.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

Join us as we kick off Season 5 with Alex Swedlow, President of CWCI and the "History of Workers' Compensation." 

Alex Swedlow is the President of the California Workers' Compensation Institute (CWCI). 

Alex is a previous guest on our podcast and we are so happy to welcome him back with his version of a brief "History of Workers' Compensation." As you will see, he is also a Workers' Compensation "nerd", just like Yvonne and Rafael, and he loves to talk about the history of our system which can be traced back over 4,000 years! 

Whether you are "tenured" in Workers' Compensation and insurance like the three of us are, or are new to the industry, we encourage you to listen for a quick summary of our endlessly fascinating system and its roots. 

Check out our new YouTube channel - @DeconstructingComp where we will drop our episodes in video format. 

For more information about CWCI, please visit https://www.cwci.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 

Send us Fan Mail

Here we go with Season 5! 

We can't believe we are kicking off the fifth season of Deconstructing Comp! 

Co-hosts Yvonne Guibert and Rafael Gonzalez are back and ready to welcome a new season of conversations with their guests. 

This year, we are returning to our original idea of breaking down the workers' compensation system into bite-sized digestible nuggets of information. We call it the "Cliff's Notes" approach to understanding workers' compensation. 

Please join us on our new journey. We think it will be fun for professionals new to the industry and those of us who have been here for a while. 

Yvonne is committed to keeping episodes to 30-35 minutes! 

¡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

Yvonne and Rafael take some time to relive and review 2024 Season 4 and chat about a few changes they will make for Season 5. 

Thank you for listening! 

¡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 happy to introduce you to Elise White, President of Change Forward Industries, based in the Atlanta Metro area in Georgia. 

Join us for an interesting conversation with Elise. You'll learn about her educational background, including that she studied criminal justice and how that led to a career in insurance and claims management.

Elise has 16+ years of experience managing claims for some of the biggest insurance companies, including Liberty Mutual, Travelers, and Zurich, and has developed quite an affinity for supporting at-risk youth, as well as at-risk industries. She recently launched Change Forward Industries. 

Listen to this episode to learn more about Elise, her career and what she's been up to lately, including some very important work with Diversity and Talent Alliance (DATA).

Here are some resources related to our conversation: 

1. Change Forward Industries - https://changeforwardindustries.com/
2. Article about RIMS/WCI Research Presentation: www.workerscompensation.com_Want better worker safety-tryEmpathy
3. Diversity and Talent Alliance (DATA) , Non-profit https://www.diversityandtalent.org/
4. Support the DATA Fundraiser - Workers' Compensation Empathy Relay Digital Game for $10: https://www.diversityandtalent.org/store/p/empathy-relay-digital-game-workers-comp-edition

Note from Elise: "I did not state these stats with 100% accuracy, but here is the insurance data on the aging workforce and talent shortage within insurance:" 

Stats mentioned: 

• 4% millennials interested in working in insurance careers, PEW Research
• 50% of insurance professionals are looking to retire by 2028, National Association of Mutual Insurance 

We love Elise and we think you will too! Grab your headphones and let's go talk to Elise!

¡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

In this episode, we get to know Evelyn Eury, Director of Program Claims, Occupational Risk/P&C Lead at Crum & Forster—a leading carrier in property and casualty, accident and health, and specialty insurance solutions. Evelyn shares her journey from studying journalism to her current role, where she navigates the intersections of workers' compensation, property & casualty, and other insurance lines.

Our conversation covers a variety of topics, including:

• Saluting Veterans: Recorded on Veteran’s Day, we honor Evelyn’s husband, Seth, an active-duty US Coast Guard member, and all who have served our country.
• Cameo by Saint: Evelyn’s Weimaraner, Saint, makes a guest appearance.
• Mentoring the Next Generation: Evelyn discusses mentoring young insurance professionals and inspiring them to pursue careers in risk and insurance.
• Mom Life: Balancing her career while raising three daughters, along with trends in beauty products and Sephora adventures.

This extended episode is a wonderfully organic conversation filled with insights and heartwarming moments. Grab your headphones, your favorite beverage, and join us for an inspiring chat with Evelyn Eury!

For listeners who are newer to the industry, here are links to the conferences we mentioned during the episode: 

CLM (Claims and Litigation Management):
https://www.theclm.org/allevents

Workers' Compensation Institute (WCI) Conference:
https://www.wci360.com/

National Comp Conference:
https://wcconference.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

Let's get to know Melissa Marks, Senior Leave Supervisor at Pepsico. What does a "Leave Supervisor" do for an employer? Shout out to our friend Natalie Torres for introducing us to Melissa.

In this episode, Melissa shares her personal health journey and how it has shaped her empathy for others, particularly as she navigates her role working with employees who experience work injuries.

Here is a link to Melissa's book, titled "Fight Faithfully"

¡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 happy to bring you this episode featuring Dr. Crystal Cobos, Director of the Brain Injury and Concussion Clinic at Institutes of Health and Anne McDonnell, Advocacy and Affiliate Specialist for the Brain Injury Association of
America and former Executive Director of the Brain Injury Association of Virginia.

In this episode, we discuss the recent development announced in late July by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: CMS now officially recognizes Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) as a chronic condition. According to the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) this is a victory for the brain injury community. CMS has added TBI to its list of chronic conditions for chronic special needs plans (C-SNPs) through its Medicare Advantage program, effective for the January 2025 plan year.

What does this mean for brain-injured employees and the workers' compensation community? Bottom line? We see this as a good thing. Tune in to hear what more these two experts have to say about it. 

For more information about Institutes of Health, Brain Injury Services, visit:
https://institutesofhealth.org/

For more information about the Brain Injury Association of America, visit: 
https://www.biausa.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 

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, you will hear from Jennifer Wolf, President of the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Insurance Association (MWCIA). She talks about what she studied in college, how she found her way into our wonderful industry, and how she loves our workers' compensation ecosystem.

We also learn what a rating does and how it contributes to the overall workers' comp system. According to the MWCIA website: "The primary function of MWCIA as a Data Service Organization (DSO) is to produce an annual Ratemaking Report, which is the basis for all workers' compensation rates in Minnesota. Insurers then apply their unique expenses and loss experience to these base rates to create their own independent rates."

In addition to her duties at MWCIA, Jennifer is also President of Kids' Chance of America. 

As you will learn, Jennifer is one of our brightest gems in the WC industry. Smart, funny, and a lover of our industry, she is the real deal.

Grab your earphones, and let's go chat with Jennifer! 

MWCIA - https://www.mwcia.org/

Kids Chance of America - https://www.kidschance.org/

National Academy of Social Insurance - https://www.nasi.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 

Send us Fan Mail

Come along with us as we catch up with two of the brightest leading women in our industry: Marijo Storment and Jenn Ryon. 

We start, as we usually do at the beginning of our episodes, discovering what Marijo and Jenn studied in school. Then, we chat about what it was like to launch ForzaCare. 

Next, we take a deep dive to focus on an organization that is near and dear to our hearts: Alliance of Women in Workers' Compensation (AWWC). Yvonne served as a Florida ambassador to the organization for over four years in Tampa, FL. She still loves to support and advocate for the organization. Rafael has been a long-time supporter of AWWC. 

We talk about AWWC, the organization's mission, vision and what you can expect if you attend one of their events. We encourage everyone to attend a national event, or a local event if you have an opportunity. 

Jenn serves as Vice President and Marijo is the Secretary, both serving in prominent positions on the board for AWWC.

So grab your headphones and get ready for a jam-packed fun exploration of one of the most influential organizations in our industry! They encourage everyone to leave their logos at the door, and come to their events to learn, network, and grow. 

For more information about Alliance of Women in Workers' Compensation: https://allianceofwomen.org/

To learn more about ForzaCare: https://thinkforza.com/

NOTE: since the recording of this episode, Jenn Ryon has transitioned to Prime Health Services. You can learn more about the company here: https://www.primehealthservices.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