Colorado Open Records Act pries into Pinnacol Assurance’s dirty laundry

 and they don't like it.  Not much to add to this one, it speaks volumes by itself.

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Judge orders Pinnacol to comply with CORA on golf trip

Joseph Boven  |  August 20, 2010

http://www.coloradoindependent.com/59990/judge-orders-pinnacol-to-comply-with-cora-on-golf-trip

After suing KMGH Channel 7 to block a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) inquiry into expenses related to an “extravagant” golf trip to Pebble Beach, Calif., Pinnacol Assurance was told Thursday by a Denver District Court judge that the state workers’ compensation giant should adhere to the same CORA requirements as any other public entity.

“This is the right decision under the law and the right decision for the people of Colorado,” said Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, who testified before the court Thursday. “If we learned anything over the past year, it is that Pinnacol needs to answer to injured workers, to the businesses it serves, and to taxpayers about how it does business, just like any governmental agency. I’m glad the courts agreed.”

Carroll serves on the Legislative Audit Committee that released Pinnacol’s financial and performance audit in June. That report found numerous faults with Pinnacol’s procedures and practices.

About ColoradoCare Amendment 69

Before continuing I think I should share details of what ColoradoCare Amendment 69 is all about, courtesy of BallotPedia.org.  Sure Amendment 69 isn't perfect.  But, consider our current profits driven health care system that too often turns into a people crushing mess that gets less responsive and ever more client hostile all the time.  ColoradoCare is a solid effort to turn that around.  

I know that today if you have issues regarding any mistakes with your health care provider or insurer rather than a constructive focused dialogue to understand and resolve the issue(s), the patient is more likely to find themselves marginalized, even made to feel villainized because it seems that all the system sees is an enemy to be ignored as much as possible.  Why have we let that happen?

All too many Colorado citizens have experienced a hostile monolithic system that sees its priorities as savings, profits, and bonuses with patient needs relegated to a distrusted bottomline threatening irritant.  

Consider the various letters and articles that Pinnacol Assurance's president and CEO Phil Kalin has peppered around Colorado these past months attacking Amendment 69 - has he ever once mentioned any of the substantive problems with Colorado's workers comp system?  Nope he gives it a white wash, like he believes it's a perfect system.  For him and his fellow executives I'm sure it is.

He'll never acknowledge that luxurious executive perks and administering compassionate effect health care for our citizens doesn't fit together.  Nope, he will use every device to encourage voters to continue their gravy train.  Will we Colorado citizens and voters give in to their PR machine?  

November 8th is the only time your opinion is taken seriously.  But only if make the effort to vote.

https://ballotpedia.org/Colorado_Creation_of_ColoradoCare_System,_Amendment_69_(2016)

Overview

ColoradoCare would contract with healthcare providers to pay for certain healthcare benefits and be responsible for administering Medicaid, children's basic health programs, and all other state and federal healthcare funds.

What would ColoradoCare do?

Michael Grabell's "Insult to Injury" workers comp investigation

Michael Grabell has written an impressive collection of articles looking at today's Workers Comp realities.  He uncovers plenty of information to help us put Pinnacol Assurance's CEO Phil Kalin's misleading Amendment 69 articles into a more realistic light.

Become familiar with the following and you too will be wondering: Why do we allow them to get away with it?  Hopeful this information will help some understand why it's very important for you and your friends to get out and vote this election.  

Help create a Colorado health care system responsive to the people's needs rather than to corporate bonus incentive packages.  Vote Yes on Amendment 69!

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Insult to Injury

America’s vanishing worker protections.

Investigations by ProPublica Journalism in the Public Interest

List of articles authored and co-authored by Michael Grabell.

https://www.propublica.org/series/workers-compensation

The Demolition of Workers’ Comp

by Michael Grabell, ProPublica, and Howard Berkes, NPR, March 4, 2015

Over the past decade, states have slashed workers’ compensation benefits, denying injured workers help when they need it most and shifting the costs of workplace accidents to taxpayers. More »

Workers' Compensation Reforms by State

by Yue Qiu and Michael Grabell, ProPublica, March 4, 2015

In all, 33 states have passed laws that reduce benefits, create hurdles to getting medical care or make it more difficult to qualify for workers’ comp. Explore the interactive »

Employers Complain of Rising Premiums, But Workers’ Comp Is at 25-Year Low

by Sisi Wei and Michael Grabell, ProPublica, March 4, 2015

Despite the drumbeat of complaints about costs, employers are paying the lowest rates for workers’ compensation insurance than at any time in the past 25 years, even as the costs of health care have increased dramatically. More »

Insurance Information Institute Challenges Our Workers’ Comp Investigation. We Respond

by Michael Grabell, ProPublica, and Howard Berkes, NPR 

March 18, 2015

Insurance Information Institute challenges ProPublica/NPR’s workers’ comp investigation. Here's our response.

https://www.propublica.org/article/insurance-information-institute-challenges-our-workers-comp-investigation/

Dr. Horiagon responds to Pinnacol's Phil Kalin's Amendment 69 bashing.

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Response to Phil Kalin

By Tom Horiagon MD MOccH

(http://workerhealth.vpweb.com)

This commentary is written is response to an article appearing in:  http://www.journal-advocate.com/sterling-columnists/ci_30282396/amendment-69-damaging-workers-comp-system

Mr. Kalin's assertions fly in the face of the facts. 

Let's address the big errors: Kalin cites the CHI report that had to use very tortured and adverse assumptions in order to derive a year 10 deficit. This long-range prediction assumes no dynamism or adjustment by the ColoradoCare board of directors, no structural cost savings, no effects of decreased administrative costs, no effects of decreasing unnecessary capital expenditures in over-served areas, and adverse assumptions about Federal actions. 

It is also worth considering the source. CHI is an extension of the hospital lobby and hospital networks that thrive by market segmentation and running away from under-served populations will be losers under Amendment 69. 

The claim that Colorado's workers compensation system is one of the nation's best is beyond preposterous. The notion that ColoradoCare would take away access to occupational medicine specialists in Colorado is a lie. 

The fact is that hardly any of the physicians participating in Colorado worker's compensation have any training in occupational medicine beyond what they got in the Level II certification course. 

The Regional OSHA Director cannot recall ever receiving a notification from a Colorado physician about unsafe or unhealthy work environments. 

Why start this blog? + Intro to Dr. Horiagon's response to Kalin

My little excursion into ColoradoCare's Amendment 69 has snowballed on me.  All I was doing was researching my response to the Pinnacol CEO's flippant letter to the Durango Telegraph because I have personal reasons to be irritated with Pinnacol Assurance's dishonest practices, but I had no idea...

It's turned into an adventure of dark discovery that just keeps on going.  I documented the first leg of this journey in my previous post.  One of the articles that didn't make the cut

Response to Pinnacol's CEO Kalin's Amendment 69 bashing letter.

Phil Kalin Pinnacol Assurance president and CEO has been going around Colorado writing self-serving letters and articles denouncing Amendment 69 the ColoradoCare health care reform amendment on this November's ballot.  I'm responding to the letter he had published in the September 8th issue of the Durango Telegraph and titled "Amendment 69 and workers comp." I have made the effort to incline footnotes with links to further information for your convenience.

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Having direct experience with Pinnacol Assurance practices I found their CEO Phil Kalin’s self-serving Amendment 69 bashing letter to the Durango Telegraph (Sept. 8) rather fascinating and I’d like to respond to him.

In his first sentence Phil Kalin voices his opinion: “Is there any question about the damage Amendment 69 would do (to Colorado’s Worker’s Comp program)?” He simply presents this query as a self-evident truth and moved on. But what is it that would be damaged? Worker’s Comp or Pinnacol Assurance’s cozy profitable arrangement?

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http://www.coloradocare.org

Irene Aguilar, M.D. Colorado State Senator and Primary Care Physician

http://goldlabfoundation.org/presentations/amendment-69-coloradocare-yes/

Yes on Amendment 69: ColoradoCare makes sense economically

http://www.denverpost.com/2016/04/01/yes-on-amendment-69-coloradocare-makes-sense-economically/

Knopf: Slaying myths around ColoradoCare and single-payer health care (column)

http://www.summitdaily.com/opinion/columns/knopf-slaying-myths-around-coloradocare-and-single-payer-health-care-column/

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Mind you, this is the same Pinnacol Assurance that was taken to task by Colorado legislators for having an excessive profits driven culture of refusing claims. Then reprimanded for spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on an executive golf vacation to Pebble Beach, giving 4.3 million in golden parachutes to 12 outgoing executives and other excessive bonuses.

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See footnotes ¶3

Pinnacol Assurance | Performance Audit May 2010 

Colo. lawmakers question bonuses paid by insurer 

Audit: Pinnacol shows abuses  

More Scandal Ahead for Pinnacol?