Following recent NSW parliamentary inquiries, State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) & media scrutiny, the NSW workers compensation insurer has confirmed they have changed the methodology icare utilised to report Return to Work (RTW) rates. The new methodology has shown plateauing effects impacted by COVID-19.
According to a recent article in insurancenews.com.au, previous return-to-work outcomes used calculations based on the cessation of weekly payments. “The return-to-work rate based on work status codes used by insurers to record whether a person is working or not working is the measure that icare will now report in its regular workers insurance claims performance data,” the insurer said.
State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) Chairman Carmel Donnelly told a NSW Parliamentary inquiry into workers’ compensation that the focus should be on “real return to work”. To achieve this, it is critical to use the correct metrics to measure performance. Charmel continued to say that “it has been clearly illustrated recently that if you measure and reward on ending weekly benefits, if you measure and reward on cutting someone off benefits you create perverse behaviours, rather than a focus on the early co-ordinated support that will deliver return to work”.
icare in a previous submission on the issue says the payment-based metric is a practical measure focused on financial outcomes that translates directly into scheme performance, while the metric SIRA prefers is focused on the social outcome. The insurer continues to work with actuarial experts to investigate how both measurements can be improved to more accurately reflect actual return to work.
The 26-week return-to-work rate based on the status code measure was 80.6% in June, experiencing a deterioration from, 88.8% in July 2018.
Using the cessation of benefits measure, the rate was 80.8% in June, down from 81.9% in July 2018 and 85.6% at the start of that year.
The rate has come under increasing pressure since March as a result of COVID-19 and business disruptions. The effects include a reduction in available suitable duties, with impacts varying across industries. Manufacturing appears to be remaining stable while industries including accommodation, cafes and restaurants, retail trade, cultural and recreational services have seen declines that are expected to continue over the coming months. “We are working with our service partners to provide every available opportunity for workers to return to paid employment as the economy recovers,” icare says.
The insurer says the net promoter score (NPS) for workers insurance increased in June to a record +23. The NPS for employers reached a high of +8, while for injured workers it was +28 for the first time since September 2018.
Source: Insurancenews.com.au
Title: icare changes reporting after SIRA pressure
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