Kathleen Madigan to Deliver Comedy Keynote Kathleen Madigan Has Been Delivering Stand-Up Comedy for Twenty- Two Years
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Volume III, August 2012 Newsletter . Kathleen Madigan to Deliver Comedy Keynote Kathleen Madigan has been delivering stand-up comedy for twenty- two years. She has appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "The Late Show with David Letterman," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and multiple other late night shows. Ms. Madigan has appeared on HBO, Comedy Central, and a host of other television channels, and has toured the country and the world delivering her unique brand of humor and insight. She has toured with the USO in Iraq and Afghanistan, and is “a constant” on satellite radio. According to her website, www.kathleenmadigan.com, she remains the only comedian in the history of NBC's "Last Comic Standing" to go unchallenged by any other comedian--meaning no other comedian would say they were funnier than her. Madigan was a finalist in season 2 of "Last Comic Standing" and a judge on season 5. "It was fun to judge it once, but never again. I just can't think of 2000 ways to tell someone they're not funny without turning into a full blown alcoholic. Ms. Madigan was born in St. Louis and her father was an attorney. She was the “middle” child with three older brothers, one younger brother and two younger sisters. She graduated from Southern Illinois University with a degree in journalism. In interviews, she conceded that she never wanted to be a journalist. Ms. Madigan has credited her father, Jack Madigan, with encouraging her to try an open-mike comedy club opportunity. Some of her most poignant observations are about her family. Her father was an attorney and later a judge. Ms. Madigan delivers a no-nonsense, sometimes cynical, perspective on the world in which we live. From her views on hope and change to her perspectives on the dedication of Olympic athletes, she brings an interesting and insightful perspective to the fore. Asked by her sister if she had any hope left, she replied “"Let me check... um... Nope! I gave up hope officially when they took the pillows out of coach on American Airlines. If we can't afford a $0.05 piece of foam, we suck." Come see Ms. Madigan and more at the 67th Annual Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference, August 20, 2012 (details at WCI360.com). “The Center for Excellence – The Study of Medical Cost Drivers in Workers’ Compensation” An Effort at Relevancy By Jim McConnaughhay, General Chairman WCI The Annual Conference continuously is looking for “relevancy” in its breakout presentations, willing to change direction as new issues evolve in the workers’ compensation industry. What could be more relevant, perhaps better labeled as critical, than the study of the medical costs within the system. The newly created Center for Excellence – The Study of Medical Cost Drivers in Workers’ Compensation (Center) was designed for such purposes. The original idea for the Center was that of conference planning committee member Dr. Michael Webb, Regional Medical Director for Liberty Mutual Insurance Group. The idea was an “easy sell” to his boss Dr. David Deitz, Vice President, National Medical Director, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, who is in a position of national oversight of concerns over medical costs. Liberty Mutual is one of the largest if not the largest workers’ compensation insurance carriers in the nation. An even easier sell was completed when Joe Paduda, Health Strategy Associates LLC, Madison, Jim McConnaughhay Connecticut, was approached to help oversee the creation of the program, the plan being to bring together some of the most influential persons in the nation to continue a dialogue of this most important aspect of workers’ compensation. Joe is recognized as a national expert on these issues, having developed a reputation of knowing the true pulse of developing issues. Dr. Webb, Dr. Deitz, and Mr. Paduda have done a masterful job accomplishing the goals of the Center for this, the first year of its existence. The Center’s breakout this year starts with a look at the real quality of medical care provided in the workers’ compensation system. This “quality study” begins with an analysis by Dr. David Deitz as to the “state of the nation” of medical costs and most importantly the quality of medical care for injured workers. It is the intent that the analytics of quality medical care within the workers’ compensation system will be a continuing subject of discussion and Joe Paduda debate as the Center continues in existence, a subject that must be continually debated by all stakeholders. Following a presentation on the quality of medical care, this year’s conference deals with several concerns beginning with the failure of all stakeholders to really understand the concerns of others. In many instances, there is a total disconnect between the meaning of workers’ compensation terms when interpreted by the different players including adjusters, injured workers, providers, regulators, and adjudicators. From that point, the program moves to some practical issues as in the use of clinical guidelines in determining the most effective manner of providing care to the injured worker, the types of medical care providing the most benefits and the providers that should be a part of the provider system/network. This ends the first day of the Center’s inaugural breakout. The second day moves from a general study of medical issues to a study or debate on specific treatment modalities. This year’s focus is on costs associated with chronic pain management and the ever increasing costs associated with pharmaceuticals. The program ends with a presentation by Dr. 2 David Victor of the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts, who will present the results of a national study on medical costs in the workers’ compensation system. At the forefront of today’s American political scene is the oftentimes tumultuous debate over health care costs in America. Perhaps the most divisive component of such discussions is the mandatory nature of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) requiring all employers to provide health insurance to their employees. For 100 years since workers’ compensation was brought to this country, American employers have been required to provide medical coverage to their employees for work related injuries. We, in the workers’ compensation industry, have been dealing with mandatory medical coverage for years, attempting to deal with costs/quality medical care – some of our solutions have worked and others have resulted in complete failure. Perhaps all David Deitz Americans can learn from the workers’ compensation experience. The conference encourages all who are interested in the medical costs in the workers’ compensation system to participate in the Center’s series of breakouts. The Center is designed to encourage everyone in the workers’ compensation system to participate in the breakouts, regardless of whether their interests follow those of the employer/carrier industry or are more appropriately aligned with the injured worker. For a more detailed overview of the Center’s breakouts, and other offerings at this year’s conference, please refer to the website at www.wci360.com WCI Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference 2011 Regulator Roundtable, WCEC 2011 3 An EEOC “Game Changer” for Employers? The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued an “Enforcement Guidance” on April 25, 2012, with advice regarding the consideration of arrest and conviction records in the hiring process. The Guidance has resulted in comments and blogs on the internet as advocates for both business and individuals contemplate the effect that this Guidance may affect. The following is the Introduction (Section I.), Background (Section II.), and the Employer Best Practices (Section VIII.) of the Guidance. The complete Guidance (including the endnotes is available on the EEOC website: http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/arrest_conviction.cfm#I II. Introduction The EEOC enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.1 This Enforcement Guidance is issued as part of the Commission’s efforts to eliminate unlawful discrimination in employment screening, for hiring or retention, by entities covered by Title VII, including private employers as well as federal, state, and local governments.2 In the last twenty years, there has been a significant increase in the number of Americans who have had contact3 with the criminal justice system4 and, concomitantly, a major increase in the number of people with criminal records in the working-age population.5 In 1991, only 1.8% of the adult population had served time in prison.6 After ten years, in 2001, the percentage rose to 2.7% (1 in 37 adults).7 By the end of 2007, 3.2% of all adults in the United States (1 in every 31) were under some form of correctional control involving probation, parole, prison, or jail.8 The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (DOJ/BJS) has concluded that, if incarceration rates do not decrease, approximately 6.6% of all persons born in the United States in 2001 will serve time in state or federal prison during their lifetimes.9 Arrest and incarceration rates are particularly high for African American and Hispanic men.10 African Americans and Hispanics11 are arrested at a rate that is 2 to 3 times their proportion of the general population.12 Assuming that current incarceration rates remain unchanged, about 1 in 17 White men are expected to serve time in prison during their lifetime;13