Workers' Compensation Commission cites CompHub transition, staffing gaps and concerns with Uninsured Employers Fund

Micah Richardson, a budget analyst at the Department of Legislative Services, told the Public Safety and Administration Subcommittee that the Workers' Compensation Commission's (WCC) fiscal 2026 allowance increases slightly but reflects the completion of a major IT modernization and ongoing staffing and fund‑management questions.

The WCC's fiscal 2026 budget “increases by around $656,000 compared [with fiscal 25],” Richardson said during his presentation, and he identified a roughly $1.6 million increase in salaries tied to prior cost‑of‑living adjustments. He noted the CompHub enterprise modernization project—finished in December 2024—was the largest single IT effort for the agency and reduced the agency's technology appropriation by about $2.5 million in the allowance after a total project cost of $23.9 million.

The CompHub rollout has produced scheduling and workflow changes that the commission and analysts said are still settling out. "For the last 6 months, we have noticed that the number of cases awaiting hearing, what we call our pending caseload, is very low. Very low, in fact," Maureen Quinn, chair of the Workers' Compensation Commission, told the subcommittee. Quinn said the commission is still assessing how the paperless system has changed staffing needs and hearing operations.

Why it matters: the WCC sets timelines for contested workers'‑compensation hearings and collects payroll‑based assessments from insurers that fund its operations. Delays or persistent inefficiencies would affect injured workers' access to hearings and the agency's workload and staffing requirements.

The committee heard multiple operational concerns. Richardson said WCC had 18 vacant positions as of December 2024, a level above budgeted turnover, and that WCC experienced an 8.6 percentage point decline in the share of hearings set within 60 days in fiscal 2024 compared with fiscal 2023, leaving the agency below its 90% target. Quinn said the agency has reclassified 43 positions to shift work from clerical tasks to claims‑review roles, and that 42 of the commission's 111 full‑time employees are 60 or older, which she described as a demographic pressure on staffing.

The committee also questioned the long‑term solvency and administrative costs of the Uninsured Employers Fund (UEF). Richardson summarized DLS findings and WCC commentary: as of Sept. 30, 2024, the UEF fund balance was about $7 million, up from roughly $5 million the prior closing year, but exhibit data showed expenditures outpaced revenues in fiscal 2023 and 2024. Richardson said third‑party administrator (TPA) Corvail (also spelled Corvair in some materials) had secured payments totaling about $25 million and been paid about $11.5 million by UEF in the last five years.

Quinn said the contract with the TPA has been a major driver of UEF administrative expenses. She told the subcommittee the Board of Public Works approved keeping Corvail as the TPA through Oct. 31, 2029, and that under the contract Corvail would receive about $8.4 million by the end of the term. WCC and Richardson said the contract's cost ratio raised concerns when compared with industry standards.

WCC recommended several possible changes—some not requiring legislation and others that would. Options discussed included: transferring claims management in‑house; hiring a commission‑based collections agency for outstanding debts; reducing the costs of fines, penalties and collection actions; and, as a legislative option, increasing the assessment percentage on awards and settlements by one percentage point. According to Richardson, WCC "does not support transferring $10,000,000 from the subsequent injury fund to UEF" and "does not support making reserve setting mandatory." WCC also recommended establishing an overseer or monitor to review UEF balances, TPA administrative fees and UEF staffing and to report on reserves and enforcement effectiveness.

There was no formal vote or motion recorded on these recommendations during the subcommittee hearing; members asked the agency for additional information and follow up.

Clarifying details from the presentation included: the CompHub project cost $23.9 million and completed in December 2024; the fiscal 2026 budget shows about a $1.6 million salary increase tied to prior cost of living adjustments; WCC reported 18 vacant positions as of December 2024; UEF balances were reported as roughly $7 million on Sept. 30, 2024; Corvail/Corvair secured roughly $25 million in payments and received about $11.5 million from UEF in the last five years; Board of Public Works action on Oct. 30, 2024 approved the TPA contract extension through Oct. 31, 2029 and an expected $8.4 million total payment by the contract end.

Ending: The subcommittee did not take formal action at the hearing; members asked WCC and DLS to provide more detailed information on UEF data sharing, the TPA contract cost comparisons and staffing projections as CompHub usage stabilizes.