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After months of complaints from county staff, board extends CorVel workers'comp contract and directs employee, department surveys
Summary
Following sustained public comment from county employees and the Tulare County Deputy Sheriffs Association about communication and delayed treatment under the county's third-party administrator, the board approved a one-year extension of CorVel's agreement and directed risk management to survey staff and report back in three months.
Tulare County supervisors on Feb. 25 approved a one-year extension of the county's agreement with CorVel Enterprise Comp Inc. for third-party workers'compensation claims administration, but they also directed immediate steps to address widespread complaints from employees and department managers about CorVel's responsiveness.
Rob, a risk-management staff member who led the presentation, told the board that CorVel has served as the county's third-party administrator since 2012 and was selected after a 2022 request for proposals. He said the county and its excess insurer, Prism, have engaged in audits and monthly service reviews and that an independent audit returned a recent score of about 88%.
Supervisor Larry McCarrie and representatives of public-safety departments pressed the county and CorVel on repeated claims of slow communication, denied or delayed treatment, and providers declining to work in CorVel's managed-provider network. McCarrie said he had personally experienced difficulty getting treatment and cited multiple staff who have not received timely responses.
Several county employees and union representatives gave public comment detailing specific complaints: Robbie Hebrard, president of the Tulare County Deputy Sheriffs Association, said members have waited months without responses and often turn to attorneys to obtain action. Marcel Campos, a sheriff's deputy who described a work-related herniated disc, said his request for an updated MRI was denied by CorVel. Sgt. Carl Bostai gave multiple examples of delayed records, denials and missing communications that prolonged care.
County counsel noted the board's options: approve the contract as presented, continue the matter to negotiate further changes, or deny approval and seek a replacement third-party administrator. Counsel said there is a 30-day termination clause in the contract if the board later chooses to end the relationship.
After discussion the board voted unanimously to approve a one-year extension and directed risk-management staff to: - Distribute a survey to employees, department personnel offices and represented employees (including those with attorneys) to document complaints and experiences with CorVel; - Track and report complaints via a dedicated risk-management complaint line and ensure CorVel implements a parallel complaint-tracking process; - Return to the board with a status update and the survey results in roughly three months.
Risk-management staff also said they would increase monitoring, add a technician to the risk-management team to assist with high-profile claims, and launch provider-lookup and complaint-contact information tools through CorVel's online portal.
Why it matters: The contract governs how county employees receive medical care and how the county manages workers'comp claims. Board members and staff said poor communication was prolonging employees' time off work and increasing overtime costs for departments covering absent staff.
Ending: Supervisors said they will watch for measurable improvements and use the 30-day termination clause if necessary; they also asked staff to produce a summary of today's concerns to send to CorVel.
