3-10-11; ASA Chicago & Construction Safety Council Construction Expo and Safety Day

Gene Keefe and Shawn Biery are presenting on Workers’ Compensation and Medicare Set Asides.

When: Tomorrow, March 8, 2011 • 7am to 7pm

Where: New Location at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare Grand Ballroom

What: Over 180 booths, network with Subs, GCs, Vendors, Architects and more!

Safety Day sessions will include such topics as the New Crane & Derrick Standard, Falls, Scaffolding, Electrical, Health Hazards and Worker’s Compensation.

Special “Brown Bag” session during lunch is Arcs, Sparks, Fire & Explosions!

Safety Day 7am - 3:30pm at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center; Construction Expo 1pm - 7pm at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare

ASA Chicago and Construction Safety Council are bringing together construction professionals for a day of cutting edge safety sessions and networking at Expo.

Register Online at www.asachicago.org or call 847-827-8336; Construction Expo Floor Pass $40 per person; Purchase 3 passes for $100 and 5 passes for $175; .75 CEUs awarded for the day

3-10-2011; Please look to Shawn Biery for legal needs and concerns in the Medicare Set-Aside field

Our esteemed law partner at KC&A, Shawn R. Biery has completed course work and testing from two sources to obtain his MSCC. The Medicare Set-aside Consultant Certified (MSCC) credential is designed to identify those professionals who work within the workers’ compensation benefit system as either a health care professional, legal representative, or as an insurance claims adjuster, who have achieved specific pre-approved training in Medicare set-aside trust arrangements, and have demonstrated a breadth of knowledge regarding the development and application of the Medicare set-aside trust arrangement process.

At present, very few practicing lawyers in this state hold this certification.

Any person holding the MSCC credential has agreed to come under the scrutiny of a certifying review board (CHCC), to be peer reviewed, and to adhere to a set of standards governing ethics and professional behaviors.

Please feel free to contact Shawn R. Biery, J.D., M.S.S.C. at sbiery@keefe-law.com with any questions regarding Medicare Set-Aside issues.

3-10-2011; Attorney Kim Presbrey of the Illinois Workers’ Comp Advisory Board lectures about WC reform

Long-time claimant attorney Kim Presbrey is a solid attorney and WC practitioner from the west suburbs of Chicago. As well as being a successful claimant attorney, he is also the head of a medical malpractice insurer.

At a Chicago Bar Association luncheon earlier today, Attorney Presbrey spoke about the current Illinois Senate Bill which is now slated for a possible vote on Thursday and the various issues being debated in Springfield which may significantly affect the workers’ compensation system in Illinois. It was his impression the reduction  of medical costs appears to be the number one goal for representatives of Illinois business to achieve, likely due to the fact that medical fees are by far the largest cost driving most work injury claims.

The other top changes pursued by business are the implementation of AMA guidelines for the rating of injuries, a heightened standard requiring an injury to be the  “primary cause” of a condition and greater weight being given to Utilization Review. On these issues though, he felt it was very unclear which if any of them might survive the ongoing political wrangling.

Interestingly, he noted a similar bill from January solicited only 18 likely  “yes” votes after an informal head-count and therefore, it was never presented for a formal vote. Accordingly, it appears there is not nearly sufficient support for us to expect passage this week.

That said, Mr. Presbrey was careful to point out that the more influential members of the House and Senate on each side of the aisle can mobilize their troops rather quickly. If folks like Mr. Madigan (D) get together with Mr. Brady (R) and they hammer out a compromise, they could  garner the support needed to push a Bill through.

At this time, predictions are futile. We will keep you posted on developments as we hear of them. This article was researched and written by John P. Campbell, Jr., J.D. Please do not hesitate to contact or reply to John at jcampbell@keefe-law.com.