NCCI official briefs Vermont commerce committee on workers' compensation trends

Susan Donaghan, chief regulatory officer at the National Council on Compensation Insurance, briefed the Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development on Jan. 16 about NCCI's role in workers' compensation and national policy trends.

Donaghan told the committee that NCCI is a nonprofit data and analysis organization that does not sell insurance or lobby, and that it provides rate recommendations and price estimates for legislation to state insurance regulators and lawmakers. "We are not an insurance company. We do not lobby. We are a neutral organization," she said.

NCCI collects claims, loss, expense and medical data from insurers and uses those data to prepare premium and rate recommendations that are submitted to the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation. Donaghan said the Vermont workers' compensation market is about $200,000,000 within a roughly $1,600,000,000 property-and-casualty market in the state; she said NCCI also administers a residual market for employers who cannot obtain coverage on the voluntary market.

Donaghan outlined national legislative and regulatory topics that could affect Vermont: expanded coverage for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the use of psychedelics in medical treatment for PTSD and severe depression, questions about whether medical marijuana should be reimbursed by workers' compensation, the legal classification of gig workers, and renewed conversation about single-payer health proposals in some states.

On PTSD, Donaghan said the trend began with first responders after Sept. 11 and that some states are broadening definitions to include more occupations. She said Vermont passed an expansion last year that "included some certain state employees," and added, "I think firefighters, right," attributing that detail to her recollection.

Donaghan discussed research into supervised use of hallucinogens as a clinical treatment for severe depression and PTSD, citing military studies of veterans as an early area of evidence. On medical marijuana she said states and courts have diverged: "New Jersey said, heck no. You're not covering that in workers' comp. Massachusetts Supreme Court a year or two ago said, heck yeah. You are gonna cover that." She attributed those positions to state approaches rather than to NCCI policy.

On workforce classification, Donaghan described conflicting federal and state approaches to whether gig economy workers are employees eligible for benefits (including workers' compensation) or independent contractors, noting recent shifts in federal labor policy positions across administrations.

She also urged committee members to use NCCI resources when considering legislation: NCCI can price bills and provide interactive maps and reports for state comparisons. "If all this intrigues you to no end and you can't sleep at night... go on our website, ncci.com," she said.

Donaghan introduced two colleagues who work with Vermont: Justin Moulton, senior state relations executive with coverage of New England, and Chris Rice of MMR, identified as the group's local liaison. She said both coordinate with the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation and the Department of Labor and that NCCI monitors statutes, regulations and proposed laws in all states to identify trends and to inform its rate and premium recommendations.

The committee did not take formal action on the presentation. The chair closed the off-floor briefing and reminded members the committee will meet again at 8:45 a.m. the next day.