Post by Stanley Hetz on Aug 11, 2008 1:37:36 GMT -5
I recently came across a disturbing article about the BrickStreet insurance company. I am not going to say at this time whether or not I agree with what was written in the article, but I would hope that a company in the medical field would be more concerned with helping the injured. I am curious as to what others think about what was written in this article. I am posting a copy of it here for your convenience, but please be sure to check out the original copy at kanawhacountyblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/stroll-down-brickstreet.html
Sunday, June 1, 2008
A Stroll Down BrickStreet
WV Workers Compensation Insurance Company
By Sam Webber and Jack Swint
PWDGroup@gmail.com
"BrickStreet has a great interest in WV’s citizens and Employers… It’s from the millions of dollars a year in extra profit they make from just the interest earned on employers premium payments while sitting in BrickStreets bank accounts…"
BrickStreet Insurance Company
Statehouse records show that BrickStreet Mutual Company (Link) was formed on March 9th of 2005.
Since the first day of operation, BrickStreet has cornered the market as a coercive monopoly business. This action violates both state and federal anti trust laws to allow one company to be the sole provider of workers compensation insurance. State officials actually approved this monopoly for a two-year period using the excuse they needed to work the bugs out of the new privatized insurance industry before allowing other companies to compete.
No matter what excuse they use to try and justify what occured, the state and BrickStreet are in direct violation of W.Va. Code 47-18-1 et seq.
Federal statutes under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in 15 USCA (2)(4) make it a federal crime for any business to monopolize free trade or commerce in the United States. To add insult to injury, the state loaned BrickStreet at least 235 million dollars in start up costs. Officials knew, or should have known, this loan was in support of a monopoly.
As of July 1, 2008 BrickStreet will no longer enjoy carte blanche in the workers compensation market. WV will finally allow other insurance companies to offer their services in direct competition with BrickStreet. The majority of insurance carriers planning to compete say they could be at a huge disadvantage because BrickStreet has enjoyed being the sole insurance provider to a current 36,000 policyholders.
According to the insurance commissioner’s office, at least 136 outside companies have registered their intent to compete with BrickStreet. These are companies that have never done business in WV before. Sources also believe that at least 27 will begin selling their services on July 1, 2008. The remainder will sit back and observe.
The new insurance providers have one thing to offer employers that BrickStreet cannot. A wide array of insurance coverage besides workers compensation including auto, business and life insurance. And, with substantial discounts for multiple coverage.
Greg Burton, BrickStreets President and CEO hopes his company will retain at least seventy percent of the total market. Even less then that percent will still be a very lucrative business. According to BrickStreets 2006 financial reports, they earned 185 million dollars in 2007. Which more then doubled from 70 million in 2006.
CEO Burton, who earns approx. $160,000 a year, plus incentives (and says he could pay himself more) also boasts there are eight to ten other employees who are in the $200,000 + a year bracket. Most people interviewed say they do not understand how Burton became president since he oversaw workers compensation when it was state owned and that system was on the verge of Bankruptcy from poor management.
Burton and company have snubbed their noses at WV recently when they decided to conduct an annual retreat convention outside of the state instead of financially supporting and utilizing the many resources WV has to offer.
Bottom line…For the past two years BrickStreet has created an atmosphere that promises, "We are open for business, but, closed to the people of WV."
According to inside sources at BrickStreet, there are three things corporate officials don’t want employers and claimants to discover.
1. All of the millions of dollars a year in premiums paid by WV employers and other revenues sits in BrickStreets bank accounts collecting a high rate of interest. Unconfirmed estimates place that interest earned between seven to ten million dollars annually. Money that reportedly is not declared as company profit.
2. There is an understanding that the longer BrickStreet administrators can find a way to postpone or deny paying a claim to an injured worker, the more profits the company earns. Which means more money sitting in the bank drawing interest. This supports some reports that say BrickStreet looks at each claim as a fraud case first, then as a true injury. Also, by law, claimants who receive any delayed or back payments are entitled to the bank interest earned while their money has been "held hostage."
3. As a company built on the premise that they are "jointly owned" by all WV employers, those business partners could be entitled to share in the interest being accrued from premium payments and investments too. By law, employers should receive a credit or payment on that interest from monies paid as BrickStreets "business partners." This money is above and beyond any profit dividends currently being withheld from policyholders.
Claimants
One attorney who handles workers compensation claims for the injured workers says "It makes me sick to my stomach how the workers compensation system treats people who have been hurt on the job." When asked to pick one positive change that has occurred since the new changes began in 2006, he thoughtfully replied "I’m trying to think of something, but I see nothing positive." According to this source, workers comp claim denials are up, but actual claims being reported are down.
Administrators are said to evaluate each case and pre-determine an approximate payout the injury may eventually cost the company. That amount is earmarked and the longer it is prolonged, the better for BrickStreet. So, if a claimant’s case goes all the way to the Supreme Court, it could take two to three years for BrickStreet to ever pay up. While all along your money is sitting in their bank drawing interest to offset their possible losses.
Another staggering statistic is that workers comp appeals take up 35 to 40% of the Supreme Courts staff workload each year. And the majority are either denied and or refused. Estimates are as high as 3,200 appeals have been filed in relation to workers compensation over the years.
One former claims administrator admitted that some injured workers are bounced around from doctor to doctor if her superiors were unhappy with a physician’s injury findings and reports. In fact, she alleges doctors were taken off the approved list to work for them if that doctor appears to be "pro-patient" or to slow in releasing a claimant back to work before that person is actually ready. BrickStreets return to work experts appear to know more then trained doctors about patients conditions and treatment.
Another attorney interviewed describes both the physical and financial disasters that a lot of their clients are subjected to after being injured on the job. "When a person is injured due to their employment, they should be able to expect proper medical care and to be adequately paid for any lost wages. And, a final settlement of compensation for any partial or total permanent disability due from their injury."
Going on to say "Yes, one of the major concepts of a workers compensation program provides a company protection from being sued by that employee because they were injured on the job.
But, where does it state that someone who is injured or disabled has to be denied proper medical treatment, lose his or her dignity, life savings, home, car, and in some cases have to file bankruptcy or even thrown out on the street and lose everything? All just to protect employers and allow a company like BrickStreet to post enormous profits each year."
And it doesn’t stop there. While waiting for claims to begin paying through normal channels and or the appeals process, most claimants interviewed say they have to turn to their relatives, friends and community outreach programs for financial assistance just to survive. This places an undue burden on those individuals who help claimants. There is a trickle down effect that no one wants to admit exists.
In fact, no one wants to even address the truth that this workers compensation process is not working adequately at all for injured workers. The only people seeing any financial success is BrickStreet and anyone else connected to the system. It’s a win win combination for everyone except those WV citizens who are injured.
BrickStreet failed to even effectively handle the active workers compensation cases on injured workers before the new private system took over in 2006.
The insurance commissioners office received hundreds of daily complaints from those claimants alleging gross mismanagement by the company BrickStreet used as a third party. It became so intense that the state re-assumed handling those former claims even though they had to outsource and contract three private companies just to manage them. That is because most of the commissioner’s staff was either transferred over to BrickStreet, to another state office or let go.
Records show that claimants have been denied benefits even though doctors and employers state in writing, and under oath, that the injury sustained could only be work related. The system is so one sided that some claimants cases were stalled in order to allow new rules and legislation to become enacted that immediately cut back benefits that injured workers would receive.
According to one victim of the system, BrickStreet is just "another failed experiment in the economic disaster called West Virginia."
So, how did this mess all reportedly start?
According to one senior state official who spoke off the record, Joe Manchin made a deal with the devil to help ensure he became WV’s Governor. Manchin allegedly gave his word that if elected, he would swiftly privatize the state run workers compensation division and open the door for his strongest group of political supporters to take it over. Everyone involved in that deal would make a fortune at the expense of injured workers and their families if Manchin kept to his covenant.
The Governor did keep his promise and instrumentally dissolved workers compensation from the state in record time. Which subsequently led to the creation of BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Company. But now it appears on the surface that BrickStreets president and CEO has turned his back on Governor Manchin. And, he is taking from the poor and giving it to the rich.
End of story....
A Stroll Down BrickStreet
WV Workers Compensation Insurance Company
By Sam Webber and Jack Swint
PWDGroup@gmail.com
"BrickStreet has a great interest in WV’s citizens and Employers… It’s from the millions of dollars a year in extra profit they make from just the interest earned on employers premium payments while sitting in BrickStreets bank accounts…"
BrickStreet Insurance Company
Statehouse records show that BrickStreet Mutual Company (Link) was formed on March 9th of 2005.
Since the first day of operation, BrickStreet has cornered the market as a coercive monopoly business. This action violates both state and federal anti trust laws to allow one company to be the sole provider of workers compensation insurance. State officials actually approved this monopoly for a two-year period using the excuse they needed to work the bugs out of the new privatized insurance industry before allowing other companies to compete.
No matter what excuse they use to try and justify what occured, the state and BrickStreet are in direct violation of W.Va. Code 47-18-1 et seq.
Federal statutes under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in 15 USCA (2)(4) make it a federal crime for any business to monopolize free trade or commerce in the United States. To add insult to injury, the state loaned BrickStreet at least 235 million dollars in start up costs. Officials knew, or should have known, this loan was in support of a monopoly.
As of July 1, 2008 BrickStreet will no longer enjoy carte blanche in the workers compensation market. WV will finally allow other insurance companies to offer their services in direct competition with BrickStreet. The majority of insurance carriers planning to compete say they could be at a huge disadvantage because BrickStreet has enjoyed being the sole insurance provider to a current 36,000 policyholders.
According to the insurance commissioner’s office, at least 136 outside companies have registered their intent to compete with BrickStreet. These are companies that have never done business in WV before. Sources also believe that at least 27 will begin selling their services on July 1, 2008. The remainder will sit back and observe.
The new insurance providers have one thing to offer employers that BrickStreet cannot. A wide array of insurance coverage besides workers compensation including auto, business and life insurance. And, with substantial discounts for multiple coverage.
Greg Burton, BrickStreets President and CEO hopes his company will retain at least seventy percent of the total market. Even less then that percent will still be a very lucrative business. According to BrickStreets 2006 financial reports, they earned 185 million dollars in 2007. Which more then doubled from 70 million in 2006.
CEO Burton, who earns approx. $160,000 a year, plus incentives (and says he could pay himself more) also boasts there are eight to ten other employees who are in the $200,000 + a year bracket. Most people interviewed say they do not understand how Burton became president since he oversaw workers compensation when it was state owned and that system was on the verge of Bankruptcy from poor management.
Burton and company have snubbed their noses at WV recently when they decided to conduct an annual retreat convention outside of the state instead of financially supporting and utilizing the many resources WV has to offer.
Bottom line…For the past two years BrickStreet has created an atmosphere that promises, "We are open for business, but, closed to the people of WV."
According to inside sources at BrickStreet, there are three things corporate officials don’t want employers and claimants to discover.
1. All of the millions of dollars a year in premiums paid by WV employers and other revenues sits in BrickStreets bank accounts collecting a high rate of interest. Unconfirmed estimates place that interest earned between seven to ten million dollars annually. Money that reportedly is not declared as company profit.
2. There is an understanding that the longer BrickStreet administrators can find a way to postpone or deny paying a claim to an injured worker, the more profits the company earns. Which means more money sitting in the bank drawing interest. This supports some reports that say BrickStreet looks at each claim as a fraud case first, then as a true injury. Also, by law, claimants who receive any delayed or back payments are entitled to the bank interest earned while their money has been "held hostage."
3. As a company built on the premise that they are "jointly owned" by all WV employers, those business partners could be entitled to share in the interest being accrued from premium payments and investments too. By law, employers should receive a credit or payment on that interest from monies paid as BrickStreets "business partners." This money is above and beyond any profit dividends currently being withheld from policyholders.
Claimants
One attorney who handles workers compensation claims for the injured workers says "It makes me sick to my stomach how the workers compensation system treats people who have been hurt on the job." When asked to pick one positive change that has occurred since the new changes began in 2006, he thoughtfully replied "I’m trying to think of something, but I see nothing positive." According to this source, workers comp claim denials are up, but actual claims being reported are down.
Administrators are said to evaluate each case and pre-determine an approximate payout the injury may eventually cost the company. That amount is earmarked and the longer it is prolonged, the better for BrickStreet. So, if a claimant’s case goes all the way to the Supreme Court, it could take two to three years for BrickStreet to ever pay up. While all along your money is sitting in their bank drawing interest to offset their possible losses.
Another staggering statistic is that workers comp appeals take up 35 to 40% of the Supreme Courts staff workload each year. And the majority are either denied and or refused. Estimates are as high as 3,200 appeals have been filed in relation to workers compensation over the years.
One former claims administrator admitted that some injured workers are bounced around from doctor to doctor if her superiors were unhappy with a physician’s injury findings and reports. In fact, she alleges doctors were taken off the approved list to work for them if that doctor appears to be "pro-patient" or to slow in releasing a claimant back to work before that person is actually ready. BrickStreets return to work experts appear to know more then trained doctors about patients conditions and treatment.
Another attorney interviewed describes both the physical and financial disasters that a lot of their clients are subjected to after being injured on the job. "When a person is injured due to their employment, they should be able to expect proper medical care and to be adequately paid for any lost wages. And, a final settlement of compensation for any partial or total permanent disability due from their injury."
Going on to say "Yes, one of the major concepts of a workers compensation program provides a company protection from being sued by that employee because they were injured on the job.
But, where does it state that someone who is injured or disabled has to be denied proper medical treatment, lose his or her dignity, life savings, home, car, and in some cases have to file bankruptcy or even thrown out on the street and lose everything? All just to protect employers and allow a company like BrickStreet to post enormous profits each year."
And it doesn’t stop there. While waiting for claims to begin paying through normal channels and or the appeals process, most claimants interviewed say they have to turn to their relatives, friends and community outreach programs for financial assistance just to survive. This places an undue burden on those individuals who help claimants. There is a trickle down effect that no one wants to admit exists.
In fact, no one wants to even address the truth that this workers compensation process is not working adequately at all for injured workers. The only people seeing any financial success is BrickStreet and anyone else connected to the system. It’s a win win combination for everyone except those WV citizens who are injured.
BrickStreet failed to even effectively handle the active workers compensation cases on injured workers before the new private system took over in 2006.
The insurance commissioners office received hundreds of daily complaints from those claimants alleging gross mismanagement by the company BrickStreet used as a third party. It became so intense that the state re-assumed handling those former claims even though they had to outsource and contract three private companies just to manage them. That is because most of the commissioner’s staff was either transferred over to BrickStreet, to another state office or let go.
Records show that claimants have been denied benefits even though doctors and employers state in writing, and under oath, that the injury sustained could only be work related. The system is so one sided that some claimants cases were stalled in order to allow new rules and legislation to become enacted that immediately cut back benefits that injured workers would receive.
According to one victim of the system, BrickStreet is just "another failed experiment in the economic disaster called West Virginia."
So, how did this mess all reportedly start?
According to one senior state official who spoke off the record, Joe Manchin made a deal with the devil to help ensure he became WV’s Governor. Manchin allegedly gave his word that if elected, he would swiftly privatize the state run workers compensation division and open the door for his strongest group of political supporters to take it over. Everyone involved in that deal would make a fortune at the expense of injured workers and their families if Manchin kept to his covenant.
The Governor did keep his promise and instrumentally dissolved workers compensation from the state in record time. Which subsequently led to the creation of BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Company. But now it appears on the surface that BrickStreets president and CEO has turned his back on Governor Manchin. And, he is taking from the poor and giving it to the rich.
End of story....
