Joe Paduda is the principal of Health Strategy Associates and the author of the thought-provoking Managed Care Matters blog. He is also the president of CompPharma, LLC, a research and consulting firm dedicated to improving pharmacy programs in workers' compensation. In 2012, Joe received IAIABC's President's Award for his efforts to address the opioid problem in workers' compensation. He currently participates in the "Comparative Effectiveness of Two State Payer Strategies to Prevent Unsafe Opioid Prescribing" research project funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Before starting his consulting business in 1997, Joe held executive positions with major insurers, including Travelers, United Healthcare, and Liberty Mutual, and earned a Master of Science degree in Health Management from American University. In today's episode of the In The Know podcast, Chris Hampshire and Joe dive into the current state of the workers' compensation space, positive changes that have already been made, and where the industry needs to go from here to remain relevant and successful.

Key Takeaways

• Joe highlights his career path in the workers' comp sector.

• Appealing aspects of the workers' compensation space.

• The role of functionality is the efforts of workers' comp.

• Three primary sectors that turn to workers' comp and what they are looking for.

• Insights into the current positive state of the workers' compensation industry.

• The dangers of underinvesting in technology in insurance.

• Major post-pandemic changes to the workers' comp industry.

• The current climate of activity in the regulatory environment.

• Insights from the evolution of the Managed Care Matters blog.

• Joe's thoughts on the pros and cons of workers' comp conferences.

• The future of workers' compensation, according to Joe.

• Strategies for attracting quality talent to the insurance industry.

• A five-year look at the future of the industry.

• Joe's advice to his early-career self.

Quotes

• "Workers' comp is the only healthcare system that cares about functionality."

• "In workers' comp, we care about the health part of healthcare."

• "Good medical care drives positive outcomes."

• "The more there is honest debate around a lot of topics, the better off we're going to be."

• "I hope people will get more conversant with and invest more intellectually in what's driving the healthcare system."