Workers’ Compensation Pilot Would Expedite Opioid-Related Cases

BOSTON, MA — Massachusetts is embarking on a new pilot program meant to help injured workers get pain management treatment after settling workers' compensation claims, cutting down reliance on opioids and other narcotics.

By resolving workers' comp cases more quickly in court, the state hopes to bridge the time between an injury and insurance claims' resolution through mediated care, as opposing to sending hurt workers home with prescription opioids meant to help them in the short-term. As the state's rising number of opioid-related deaths reveal, those short-term fixes can have devastating consequences.

“Judges have seen a rising number of overdoses and deaths as these proceedings play out in the courts and this pilot will help resolve cases more swiftly as another tool for fighting the opioid epidemic," Governor Charlie Baker said in a press release on the new, voluntary program. "Coordinating alternative viable chronic pain management options between an injured worker and their insurance company can reduce the chance of addiction to prescription opioids."

According to the governor's office, Massachusetts is one of the first states to implement this type of program for workers’ compensation cases involving long-term opioid use. Ohio launched a similar program in October, and in January, 2017, New York will begin allowing parties to request an expedited hearing before a judge for cases involving over-use of medication, a press release said.

The pilot program is designed for individuals with settled workers’ compensation cases, who are still being treated with opioids, but the insurance company seeks to stop payment for continued-use of opioids. These types of cases can take up to a year to settle while an individual is continually prescribed opioids, the press release said.

The program will be voluntary for both the injured worker and the insurance company. There will be no additional costs to the state to implement the new process, which fast-tracks court proceedings to mediation and assigns a care coordinator, according to the governor's office.

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