Agenda
8:00 – 8:55 am Registration and Breakfast
9:00 – 9:15 am Welcome and 2023 Legislative Outlook; Predictions Sure to be Wrong
Albert Betts, Jr., Executive Director, ICT
This will be the penultimate session before TDI and TDI-DWC are subject to Sunset Review in 2025. What issues will the legislature consider for workers’ compensation? Is it time for an overhaul or simply some “tweaks” to the system? What should insurers and employers be worried about heading into the session
9:15 – 9:50 am Panel Discussion with DWC
Jeff Nelson, Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation
Joe McElrath, Deputy Commissioner of Business Process
Moderator: Albert Betts, Jr., Executive Director, ICT
Get the thoughts and insights on what the commissioner and his team will be doing to manage the Texas workers’ compensation system. ICT executive director Albert Betts will moderate a panel discussion with newly appointed Commissioner, Jeff Nelson and Deputy Commissioner, Joe McElrath on what is next for the Division of Workers’ Compensation and what they see down the road for the WC industry in Texas.
9:50 – 10:05 am An Introduction to the Workers’ Comp College Worker Recovery Focused Program
Donald Abrams, Executive Vice President, Business Development, WorkCompCollege.com
10:05 – 10:20 am Networking Break
10:20 – 11:20 am The evolution and future of telemedicine post COVID
Brian Allen, Vice President Government Affairs, Enlyte/Mitchell
COVID required changes to the delivery of some healthcare services in workers’ compensation, resulting in a significant increase in the use of telemedicine for certain health matters for injured workers’. Is one of the legacies of COVID a greater expectation of telemedicine as a healthcare tool and will we continue to see telemedicine used in workers’ compensation or even greater use of it.
11:20 – 12:20 am An Overview of Innovations and Trends in Claims and Healthcare Management
DC Campbell, Consultant, Compstat Research Group
Significant health and economic challenges in recent years are raising concerns about increasing workers’ compensation costs and the future of injured employees’ health outcomes. What are these trends and what are effective health care management strategies and innovations that can control cost while improving outcomes? Catherine and DC and will take us through the trends and strategies.
12:20 – 1:35 pm Networking Lunch
Jessica Barta, Kid’s Chance of Texas
1:35 – 2:35 pm The workers’ comp workforce is changing and how do we attract the next generation?
Noelle Codispoti, Director of CISR High School Program, National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research.
Attracting and keeping talent is a challenge as the industry faces more retirements. Workers’ compensation is often overlooked by young professionals when considering a career in insurance. What are some strategies and approaches to develop and nurture the next generation of workers’ compensation professionals? What are some of the challenges to making workers comp attractive to potential hires and once they’re hired, how do we retain them?
2:35 – 3:35 pm Presumptive Benefits in Workers’ Compensation: Presumption laws are taking hold across the country…is Texas next?
Stuart Colburn, Shareholder, Downs & Stanford, P.C.
Stuart Colburn with Downs & Stanford, P.C. will provide an overview and his commentary on the various presumption issues arising within workers’ compensation, not only in Texas but across the country. He will discuss the trends, issues and how it could become a greater part of the Texas workers’ compensation laws. What do these presumptions mean for injured workers, insurers, and employers?
3:35 pm Closing Remarks
Bill Weldon, Senior Counsel for Workers Compensation, The Travelers Companies
3:35 – 5:00 pm Networking Reception