The Weekly Newspaper of Inglewood
Daily News on a Weekly Basis - Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - November 30, 2017
El Camino Men’s Cross Country
Finishes Seventh in State Finals
The El Camino men’s cross country team finished seventh in the State Championships in Fresno two weekends ago. Pictured L-R: Coach David Cardona, Cole Goldman, Matt Arruda, Mijo Sestich, Carson
Bix, Caleb Ko, Brian Huang, Michael Yaskowitz, Coach Dean Lofgren. Photo by Tom Harmon.
Insurance Changes Bringing Much
Needed Relief to Medical Practices
By Rob McCarthy
That same applies to a member of a board
A new law will make it possible for small
of directors. Bradford’s bill relaxes the
companies to afford workplace accident
requirement so that owners with a lower 10
insurance next year by loosening the rules on
percent stake also may opt out as a costsaving
privately-owned businesses, says the South
measure.
Bay lawmaker who sponsored the bill.
Senator Steven Bradford, D-Gardena,
said that more owners and board members
of California corporations can opt out their
company workers’ comp policies under
his bill. Part-owners and directors will be
allowed to waive coverage as long as they
have other health insurance to cover them
in case of accident or illness.
The Legislature’s efforts to reduce cheating
by employers have made it harder on small
business owners, according to Bradford who
represents the 35th District. The California
Department of Insurance says that workers’
comp premium fraud occurs when a company
underreports the true number of employees
on its payroll.
The new law doesn’t take effect until July
1, giving small businesses time to decide
who’ll claim the exemption. The California
Medical Association predicted that owners of
medical practices will sign up immediately
for the waivers.
“All owners of medical corporations
will be able to exempt themselves from
workers’ compensation coverage, regardless
of percentage ownership, as long as they
submit a waiver and have health insurance
coverage,” the association said when the bill
was signed on October 30.
Currently, a relative or investor in a
corporation can decline insurance coverage if
they own at least 15 percent of the business.
The 15-percent rule was “arbitrary” and
left many owners of medical corporations to
pay higher insurance bills for coverage they
didn’t need, according to the state’s medical
association that sponsored Bradford’s bill.
CMA noted that the rule had good
intentions. It was aimed at stopping employers
from handing out phony job titles or small
fractions of a business to avoid coverage
requirements under the work comp system.
The 15 percent rule wound up costing
medical corporations with 10 owners an
additional $11,000 to $18,000 per year, the
CMA estimated.
Bradford, who is chairman of the state
Senate Labor and Industrial Relations
Committee, said that he supports all employers
paying their fair share for coverage. However,
small businesses are being hurt the most.
“This bill balances both goals” of preventing
premium fraud and removing a cost burden
for smaller businesses, Bradford said on his
website. Larger businesses and corporations
would benefit under the change in law.
Bradford’s bill, which Governor Jerry
Brown signed in mid-October, rewrites the
California Labor Code to ease workers’ comp
coverage rules and the definition of who is
an employee. Under the law, all employees
who aren’t exempt must be accounted for in
a policy for workplace accidents, illnesses
and deaths.
An owner or director submits a written
waiver under the penalty of perjury, and
insurers don’t need to verify the information
is true. Bradford says on his website that he
believes the bill safeguards against more fraud.
Accident insurance rates for all businesses
could fall sooner than mid-year. California
Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has
recommended that workers’ comp insurers
lower their rates by as much as 17 percent.
His office calculates that the base rate for
workplace coverage should be $1.94 per
$100 of payroll. “The continued decreases in
costs to insurers should be passed along to
employers through lower rates,” said Jones,
urging lawmakers to make it automatic. “The
law does not require this currently.”
The state’s elected commissioner advises
the insurance industry on what to charge
the employers, but can’t force them to
follow his recommendation. Insurers and
their policyholders are seeing lower costs
for medical care, which Jones attributes
to changes in the law going back to 2012.
As a result, claims are being settled more
quickly, he reported in late October.
Investigators with the Department of
Insurance have cracked down on employers
who hide their actual number of employees,
while the Division of Workers’ Compensation
has begun to suspend doctors who are
convicted of billing fraud or other crimes.
Doctors kicked out of the work comp system
cannot treat injured workers or continue to
bill their employers for ongoing care.
Fraud in California costs the workers’
compensation system between $1 billion
to $3 billion per year, according to the
Department of Insurance. •
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................5
Classifieds............................3
Film Review..........................2
Finance..................................7
Food.......................................5
Hawthorne Happenings....3
Legals................................ 6-7
Looking Up...........................6
Pets........................................8
Politically Speaking............4
Seniors..................................2
Sports....................................4
Weekend
Forecast
Friday
Sunny
68˚/54˚
Saturday
Mostly
Cloudy
71˚/54˚
Sunday
Partly
Cloudy
68˚/52˚