California: Solution to workers' comp won't be found overnight

Sacramento Bee ^ | Dec 28, 2003 | Gilbert Chan

[John Jorsett]

Only hours after he took office Nov. 17, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger acted on one of the cornerstones of his campaign, unveiling a sweeping plan to overhaul California's beleaguered workers' compensation system. Assembly and Senate committees responded quickly with hearings on his proposal, which aimed to slash $11.3 billion in costs from a bloated 90-year-old state program.

[GeronL]

wasn't workers comp once considered a solution for something?

[SierraWasp]

"* Require employers to agree to allow injured workers to select their own doctors."

That there "Doctor Shopping" would be against the law in Floriduh!!!

[SierraWasp]

Yes! Until guys like this one got ahold of it!!!

"This is no (place) for a fast, immediate, magical solutions," said Isenberg, a former Sacramento legislator. "People have been working on this for decades."

Yeah Isenberg... The dorky Demonicrats have been "working it over" for far too long!!! They need the Chiropractor and Physical Therapist vote so badly!!!

[Enough is ENOUGH]

* Require employers to agree to allow injured workers to select their own doctors.

So that a worker can select a doctor that specializes in workers comp fraud?

[FormerACLUmember]

Here in NY, Workers Comp is a vast criminal scam with the endlessly crooked lawyers and malingering "workers" bleeding employers and the public dry.

Business is driven away (just like in California), yet genuinely injured wokers are often not given proper care. Honest competent docs won't deal with the horrific system, mostly phony chiropractors and the like.

You couldn't dream up a worse system if you tried.

[NormsRevenge]

Phillip Isenberg, a lobbyist with Miller, Owen and Trost, said the state's nagging fiscal crisis could sap Schwarzenegger's political energy and leave little drive for tackling workers' compensation effectively.

"This is no (place) for a fast, immediate, magical solutions," said Isenberg, a former Sacramento legislator. "People have been milking working on this system for decades."

Yet Schwarzenegger won business support in his campaign for the governor's office by promising to reduce the cost of operating in California, and workers' compensation premiums have been a sore point for many business owners.

In his inaugural speech, he averred: "Small and large businesses of all sizes are being forced to close or are being driven out of the state. Our workers' compensation costs are three times as high as the rest of the country. I will pass an emergency jobs package that will include real workers' compensation reform, and let me be clear, I will not sign a budget without real workers' compensation."

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A former legislator.. now a lobbyist .. There are No term limits when it comes to accessing the public trough, I reckun.

Life without lobbyists would be so much easier.... Maybe the legislators could get finally get something done for the people, instead of to them.