The Future Role of Managed Care and Capitation in Workers’ Compensation

Abstract

A patient of mine, Mrs. Lopez, suffered a lower back injury while lifting heavy equipment. She sustained the injury while working in the housekeeping department at a local college. I telephoned her supervisor and asked him about Mrs. Lopez’s injury. He assured me that he had forwarded an accident report to the benefits department. He said he was unaware of any employer policies or training programs governing heavy lifting. The college did not have an employee health service, but instead relied on a local law firm to handle the administration of its workers’ compensation. When I informed the supervisor that I thought Mrs. Lopez might be able to return to a restricted duty job soon, he said that he did not want Mrs. Lopez to return until “she was 100%.” I told him that this employee would benefit medically from returning to a restricted duty job as soon as it was reasonable rather than waiting until she could perform heavy lifting again. However, the supervisor replied “Don't you worry about returning her to work so soon. Workers’ compensation will pay for it.”