DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - In a story March 15 about an Iowa workers’ compensation bill, The Associated Press misidentified a National Council on Compensation Insurance official. He is Peter Burton, not Peter Spoke.
A corrected version of the story is below:
Iowa GOP push to reduce compensation for work injuries
Iowa Republicans argue a bill to reduce how much workers are compensated for on-the-job injuries will fix a system that unfairly burdens businesses, but others question whether the current policy needs big changes and counter that the overhaul may not address underlying problems
By LINLEY SANDERS
Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Iowa Republicans argue a bill to reduce how much workers are compensated for on-the-job injuries will fix a system that unfairly burdens businesses, but critics say it would just pad the pockets of companies and insurance companies.
Balancing Iowa’s workers’ compensation law between business and employee interests rests at the heart of debate over the legislation.
The state House and Senate are considering identical bills intended to lower business costs by reducing coverage for some workers’ injuries and allowing pre-existing conditions to decrease benefits.
“We’ve heard testimony from a number of companies that have seen fairly substantial increases in their workers’ compensation premiums in Iowa,” said Muscatine Republican Rep. Gary Carlson, a key supporter of the bill.
However, data from the National Council on Compensation Insurance, a nonpartisan group that analyzes and sets workers’ compensation rates in several states doesn’t necessarily back up those arguments.
The council found that premium costs for Iowa businesses decreased in 2017 by an average of 4.7 percent. Those rates have slightly fluctuated in previous years, but NCCI said that when analyzing premiums, loss ratios and lost-time claims, the overall system is fair for employers.
“Workers’ comp is in a good place when it comes to the business community around the United States - including Iowa,” said Peter Burton, a senior state relations executive with the council.
Iowa’s premium decline is the average for all businesses, but the NCCI notes companies in some industries could have seen increases.
Additionally, the worker injury rate in Iowa is on average much higher than neighboring states, including Missouri, Nebraska and Illinois, according to NCCI.
John Kuhnlein, an Ankeny doctor and specialist for occupational injuries, said this bill wouldn’t address Iowa’s higher-than-average injury rate, which he contends could contribute to higher costs for some businesses.
“When you look at Iowa, we have more meat-packing than the surrounding states,” he said. “We have more farming, which is a fairly high injury-rate industry.”
Tyson Foods, a self-insured meatpacking business that lobbied in favor of the Iowa bill, has backed similar legislation in other states. In 2016, the company accounted for 5.4 percent of Iowa’s workers’ compensation legal decisions. In 2015, they accounted for 7.5 percent of decisions.
The company declined to comment on the litigation numbers or how the current workers’ compensation system has affected their premiums and claims.
The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency found that many insured and self-insured employers would benefit from decreased worker compensation payments if the legislation is enacted.
Sen. Nate Boulton, D-Des Moines, a workers’ compensation lawyer and former vice president of the lobbying group Iowa Association for Justice, argued the bill would simply tilt the system to benefit businesses.
“I have a hard time believing that it’s based on anything more than a desire to keep money out of the pockets of injured workers and pad pockets for insurance companies and self-insured employers,” he said.
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