Take Action to Eliminate Slip, Trip, and Fall Hazards
Slips, trips, and falls are among the most common cause of lost-workday injuries. Nowhere is the problem worse than in the healthcare industry. Here are some preventive measures implemented in that industry that could help reduce the risk of these incidents in your workplace, too.
Research conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in three acute care hospitals led to the identification of the major causes of slips, trips, and falls, along with the development of effective measures for preventing them.
Over a 10-year period following the implementation of these preventive measures, workers' compensation costs arising from slips, trips, and falls in the three hospitals declined by 59 percent. These preventive measures could help reduce your workers' comp costs, too.
What's Tripping Up Workers?
The specific causes of slips, trips, and falls may vary—the slick floors in your workplace might be created by a different substance than those in a hospital—but the prevention principles can be broadly applied to any workplace and any industry.
Major risk factors identified by NIOSH and the CDC include:
1. Contaminants on floors and walkways. Kitchens, bathrooms, building entrances, and other areas where floors and walkways are often wet or contaminated present this type of risk. Effective preventive measures include:
- Well-documented housekeeping procedures. The CDC suggests creating a written housekeeping program.
- Two-step mopping. This technique, in which a cleaning solution is applied, then removed, is more effective than traditional damp-mopping and may reduce slipping hazards.
- Slip-resistant shoes. In persistently slick areas, workers should wear appropriate footwear.
- Correctly aligning pipes with the drain they empty into, unclogging drains regularly, and redirecting downspouts away from sidewalks.
2. Indoor walking surface irregularities. Damaged, warped, buckled, or uneven flooring surfaces can cause employees to slip, trip, or fall. Control this risk by:
- Replacing or re-stretching loose or buckled carpeting
- Removing, patching underneath, and replacing indented or blistered vinyl tile
- Eliminating trip hazards over a quarter-inch high in all areas of pedestrian travel, using beveling or ramps
- Replacing smooth flooring materials in areas normally exposed to water, grease, and/or particulate matter with rougher-surfaced flooring
- Making sure elevators are leveled properly so elevator floors line up evenly with hallway floors
3. Outdoor walking surface irregularities. Outdoor falls can result from poorly maintained, uneven ground; protruding structures; holes; and rocks, leaves, and other debris. Improve safety by:
- Patching or filling cracks greater than a half-inch wide in walkways
- Highlighting changes in elevation with Safety Yellow warning paint
- Eliminating concrete wheel stops in parking lots
- Covering or highlighting underground watering system structures
4. Weather conditions. Ice, snow, and rain can cause slips and falls. In areas where this is a problem, you can improve safety by:
- Providing additional mats when needed
- Removing ice and snow from parking lots, garages, and sidewalks promptly
- Placing freezing weather warning monitors at entrances to employee parking areas
- Displaying contact numbers for the maintenance department so employees can report slick conditions
- Placing bins of ice-melting chemicals in outdoor areas of heavy pedestrian traffic
5. Inadequate lighting. Inadequate lighting makes it harder to see hazards. Make hazards visible by:
- Installing more light fixtures and/or brighter bulbs in poorly lit areas
- Installing light fixtures that emit light from all sides
6. Stairs and handrails. Poorly designed or maintained stairs and handrails can lead to falls. Make these safer with:
- Slip-resistant treads and nosing that cover the entire tread, especially on outside steps
- Handrails at an appropriate height (34 to 38 inches from the stepping surface)
- Handrails that extend the full length of the stairs plus 12 inches at top and one tread depth at bottom
7. Tripping hazards. General clutter, loose cords, hoses, and wires pose a tripping hazard along with improperly used floor mats. Eliminate these by:
- Using wall-mounted storage hooks, shelves, and hose spools
- Marking walkways and keeping them clear
- Covering cords on the floor with a beveled protective cover
- Using mats and runners large enough that users can take several footsteps on them, thereby cleaning contaminants off their shoes before the shoes contact the flooring
- Using beveled-edge, flat, and continuous or interlocking mats
- Replacing mats that are curled, ripped, or worn (secure edges with carpet tape if needed)
Tensions rise as justices kick healthcare ruling to next week
By Sam Baker and Elise Viebeck
Source: thehill.com
The Supreme Court did not rule on President Obama's healthcare law Thursday, raising tensions before a decision next week.
The ruling was possible Thursday but not expected. The court traditionally holds its biggest decisions until the last day of the term, and the healthcare case is among the most highly anticipated decisions in decades, overshadowing the current term.
The next possible day for a decision is Monday, but justices will add more days to the schedule later next week.Television camera crews set up outside the court Thursday just in case a decision on the healthcare law was released. There is also great interest in an expected court decision on Arizona's controversial immigration law. Tha Arizona decision also was not released Thursday.
Interest in the court's docket was also reflected at the Scotusblog, which said it had 22,000 visitors on Thursday morning.
The court's public information office implemented new protocols starting Thursday in order to accomodate the vast interest surrounding the healthcare decision.
The Obama administration took the opportunity to praise one provision of the health law just an hour before 10 a.m., when the ruling might have been issued.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that Americans will receive $1.1 billion in rebates from insurers this summer as a result of the law's medical loss ratio (MLR). This will average about $151 per insured family, the agency estimated.
The MLR that insurers spend roughly 80 percent of all premiums on healthcare rather than marketing, executive bonuses or other administrative costs.
The Obama administration continues to talk up provisions of the law as they are implemented. Polls show that, as a whole, the Affordable Care Act remains unpopular with the public.
Legal insiders believe the justices will strike down all or part of the healthcare law, according to a survey released Wednesday.
Obama administration touts health law an hour before possible ruling
By Elise Viebeck
Source: The Hill
Federal health officials touted a popular provision of the healthcare law — which would result in $1.1 billion in insurance rebates to consumers — just an hour before the Supreme Court could issue its ruling.
A ruling could happen Thursday at 10 a.m. After that, the next possible decision date is Monday, June 25.
The Obama administration continues to talk up provisions of the law as they are implemented. As a whole, the Affordable Care Act remains unpopular with the public.
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Thursday morning that 12.8 million Americans will receive $1.1 billion in rebates from insurers this summer as a result of the law. This will average about $151 per insured family, the agency estimated.
The rebates will stem from the law's medical loss ratio, which mandates that insurers spend roughly 80 percent of all premiums on healthcare rather than marketing, executive bonuses or other administrative costs.
"The 80/20 rule helps ensure consumers get fair value for their health care dollar," Sebelius said in a statement.
Materials from HHS said that consumers will likely see a rebate check in the mail, a lump sum reimbursement to the account they use to pay premiums or a reduction in their future payments. Insurers must issue checks by Aug. 1, unless the law is struck down in the next two weeks.
Poll: Healthcare reform must stay on Washington's agenda
Americans strongly support further efforts to reform the healthcare system if the Affordable Care Act is declared unconstitutional, a new poll finds.
The overwhelming desire for a new reform effort — supported by more than 75 percent of the public — was comprised of backers and opponents alike of the law known as "ObamaCare," according to The Associated Press-GfK poll.
Neither party is expected to launch a comprehensive reform effort if the court strikes down the law in the next two weeks. Republicans in the House have said they will immediately repeal whatever portions of the law are left standing and approach other reform attempts step by step.
The White House, meanwhile, is expected to continue implementing any parts of the law that remain.
The poll found that even among Tea Party supporters — the most vocal objectors to the original healthcare law — nearly 60 percent said they want Washington to continue some kind of healthcare reform effort. This represented the lowest level of support found by the poll, according to the AP.
Overall, 47 percent opposed the law, including only 21 percent of independents, and just over a majority said the 2012 presidential contest will have a big effect on the healthcare system.
The poll was conducted June 14-18 and had a margin of error of 4 points.
Health Care Reform Update
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to publish its decision on the legality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or PPACA (also called health care reform, HCR and ACA), by the end of June. What they will decide is anyone's guess. Here are the possibilities (in no particular order), and a brief overview of what the decision would mean to employers that sponsor group health plans.
Entire Law is Constitutional
If the Court decides that all parts of the law are constitutional, employers will need to move forward with implementing the changes that the law requires. For 2012 and 2013, these include:
- Providing summaries of benefits coverage with the first open enrollment on or after Sept. 23, 2012
- Reporting the value of medical coverage on the 2012 W-2
- Reducing the maximum health flexible spending account (FSA) contribution to $2,500 (beginning with the 2013 plan year)
- Paying the Patient Centered Outcomes fee (due July 31, 2013)
Note: Details on these requirements are included in recent Employer Compliance Alerts.
Part of the Law is Constitutional and Part is Not
The Court could decide that the requirement that individuals obtain health coverage or pay a penalty (the "individual mandate") exceeds Congress' authority but that other parts of the law are permissible. They could then either specify which parts should stay and which should go, or they could send the case back to a lower court to determine the details. Either way, employer obligations to comply with the law would continue, and the actions needed for 2012 and 2013 would continue to apply.
Entire Law is Unconstitutional
The Court could decide that the entire law is flawed, in which case employers will not need to implement the changes that were to take effect for 2012 and later. There would be some uncertainty (and choices) with respect to the parts of the law that have already been implemented. Keep in mind that if the plan or policy has been amended or written to include the 2010 and 2011 changes, the plan document or policy will need to be revised to remove the changes -- the mere fact that the law is unconstitutional will not void the changes in the plan or policy.
Several carriers -- Aetna, Humana and UnitedHealthcare -- have stated that they will continue to administer their policies to include many of the changes that have already been implemented, even if that is not legally required. Employers that have self-funded plans will need to decide -- and those who have fully insured plans may need to decide -- if they want to roll back changes such as:
- Covering dependent children to age 26 (there will be tax issues with this unless the IRS provides a waiver)
- Elimination of lifetime and annual maximums for most benefits
- Elimination of pre-existing condition limitations for dependents under age 19
- First-dollar coverage for preventive care
- Excluding over-the-counter prescription drugs for health FSA and health savings account (HSA) coverage
The Supreme Court decision is unlikely to end the debate over PPACA, particularly with the fall congressional and presidential elections looming. If the Supreme Court upholds the law, House Republicans have pledged to introduce legislation to repeal it, but they likely do not have the votes in the current Congress to prevail.
Home Is Where the Falls Are
According to the National Safety Council, when it comes to off-the-job safety, falls in the home are the second leading cause of accidental death in the community, surpassed only by car crashes.
Whether your employees fall and injure themselves on the job or fall and get hurt off-the job, the result is often the same—lost workdays that interfere with your production schedules and pain and suffering for the injured worker.
Here are some tips that would make a good short safety meeting to teach workers to prevent home falls.
Fall-Proof the Home on the Inside
There’s a lot workers can do to make their home environment safe from slips and falls. For example:
- Clear up the clutter inside your home that could cause someone to trip and fall.
- Keep electrical cords out of the path of foot traffic.
- If possible, install railings on both sides of the stairs.
- Never store any items on the stairs.
- Secure area rugs with double-sided tape or rubber padding.
- Increase lighting throughout the house.
- Plug in nightlights in bedrooms, bathrooms, and hallways.
- Use rubber mats in the bathtub and rubber-backed rugs on the bathroom floor.
- Avoid floor wax cleaners.
- Clean up spills immediately, whether they are greasy or just wet.
- Be careful when using ladders for home fix-it jobs.
Fall-Proof the Home on the Outside
Likewise, there are several steps employees can take to safeguard the exterior of their homes
- Install railings on outdoor stairs.
- Add outdoor lighting at entryways and along walkways.
- In winter, be sure to clear steps and sidewalks of snow and ice and use sand to improve foot traction.
- Fill holes and depressions in the yard.
Take Extra Steps to Protect Children from Falls
Children are particularly vulnerable to home falls. Employees should take steps to prevent injuries. For example:
- Never leave babies unattended on beds, changing tables, or even sofas.
- Strap babies and toddlers in highchairs and strollers.
- Install safety gates at the top of staircases and be sure to secure them to the wall.
- Don't let children play in raised outdoor areas, such as fire escapes, balconies, high porches, or decks.
- Move furniture, such as chairs, sofas, and beds, away from windows. Small children love to climb.
- Keep windows closed and locked. For ventilation, open only those windows that children cannot reach. If you must open a low window, use window guards to prevent it from being opened wide.
- Insist that children pick up their toys.
Don't Fall for Substitutes
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Young Americans get Health Insurance, Still have debt
Source: eba.benefitnews.com
By Anna Yukhananov
June 11, 2012
Fri., June, 8, 20120 12:01am EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Health care reform likely enabled about 6.6 million young adults to join their parents' health insurance plans last year, a report found on Friday, though problems with medical bills and debt remained an issue.
President Barack Obama's 2010 health care reform law allowed young adults — who previously had the nation's highest uninsured rate — to stay on their parents' private insurance plans through age 26.
This provision is perhaps the single most popular element of the Affordable Care Act, the nation's most sweeping healthcare legislation in nearly 50 years and Obama's signature domestic policy achievement.
Polls show Americans are sharply divided about the law ahead of a Supreme Court ruling on its constitutionality by the end of June.
The Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit organization that analyzes healthcare issues, polled 1,863 adults between the ages of 19 to 25 and found 47% of them joined or remained on their parents' plans between November 2010 and November 2011.
This would translate into about 13.7 million young adults in the broader population.
Of those, 6.6 million would likely not have been able to be on their parents' plans before the law's passage, as they were not enrolled in college full time or had already graduated. Most insurance plans already allow full-time college students to stay on their parents' plans.
The results compared to a U.S. government survey that last year found about 21.6 million young adults had private health insurance — either through their parents, their jobs or other means — which was 2.5 million higher than before the law was passed.
But the Commonwealth Fund also found 36% of young adults between the ages of 19 and 29 — a slightly bigger group — had trouble paying medical bills or said they were paying off medical debt. And among those without insurance, this group rose to 51%.
Sara Collins, one of the study's authors and vice president at the Commonwealth Fund, said some young people need maternity coverage, which is often expensive but may not be provided by insurance plans.
Young adults also have the highest rate of injury-related visits to the emergency room - even above children and the elderly — and may have other health conditions such as HIV or the human papillomavirus.
The survey, conducted online, has an average sampling error margin of 3 percentage points.
Labor Power Softens But Still Lingers
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's recent recall-election victory over a union-backed opponent may serve as another black eye for the U.S. labor unions. But employers shouldn't consider unions down for the count, experts say.
Walker, who defeated Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett , had been strongly opposed by the state's public-sector unions because of his support of a bill that curtailed collective bargaining rights.
Walker's win followed a recent federal ruling that threw out a National Labor Relations Board rule that would have allowed for faster votes on union elections, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Unions historically have a much higher success rate in elections if the vote is held 15 days or less after the request, according to a Bloomberg Government report.
For unions, the recent events add to a growing trend of decline in membership and influence.
"[Unions] have declined to the point of irrelevance in most workplaces," Peter Cappelli of The Wharton School told Human Resource Executive Online. "They are having a hard time hanging onto whatever [contract] arrangements they have."
Government statistics back up Cappelli's view. Slightly more than 20 percent of U.S. workers belonged to unions in 1983, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. By 2011, that number had shrunk to 11.8 percent, according to HREO.
As union power wanes, labor leaders in Wisconsin worry that Walker will push for legislation that would make Wisconsin join 23 other states as a "right-to-work" state, which would bar employers from agreeing to contracts with unions that force employees to join the organization, according to The Capital Times of Madison, Wis.
Still, unions continue to carry political weight, Cappelli noted.
"There are still, in absolute terms, a lot of people who are union members -- so they have feet on the ground," Cappelli told HREO. "They can run voter-registration drives, and they can help get out the vote -- so they will still be a force in the election."
The days of powerful unions dictating terms to employers -- public or private -- however, may be at an end, he said.
"Unless the political climate in the U.S. changes quite radically, it's hard to imagine any scenarios where this turns around," Cappelli said.
Preparing for the SCOTUS ruling
By Brian M. Kalish
June 18, 2012
Industry groups are being proactive in preparing their membership for the Supreme Court’s ruling on health care reform — which is expected at any time — as they know no matter the ruling, the business has changed forever.
At the National Association of Health Underwriters they have readied their membership by covering the topic across numerous mediums, including weekly e-newsletters, town halls and web seminars, says Jessica Waltman, NAHU’s SVP of government affairs.
After the decision comes out, NAHU members will want to know what will happen, Waltman says, adding she believes the ruling may come out during the organization’s annual convention, which begins June 24 in Las Vegas, so they are making plans to have plenty of time to discuss it.
“We need to inform our membership, so we have a variety of information tools that we are preparing that cover the eventualities as far as we can see them,” she says. “We believe no matter the ruling; [our] members will start receiving calls from their clients. … Our goal is to have tools at the ready so they can best assist their clients.”
The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers is taking a similar approach, and has already had discussions with its membership about the potential impact of the ruling, says Scott Sinder, partner, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, and The Council’s general counsel.
The Council and its attorneys at Steptoe & Johnson LLP “have folks anxiously awaiting and ready to read the opinions,” and the organization intends to send notice to its members within hours of the ruling that reports on “the big picture,” which will be followed up with more in depth analysis within 24-28 hours.
A series of web seminars, including an initial one for its membership and a second one for members to share with their clients, will follow.
One broker, who says he started his business expecting health care reform, says he’s enjoyed watching the buildup to the ruling. “In the last three to four months it’s been interesting to see brokers still holding onto that hope that we’re going to go back five or six years and broker commissions will go back up and we’re not going to have government involvement in health care. But I don’t see that scenario occurring,” says Reid Rasmussen, owner of Benefit Brainstorm, Inc, adding he believes 30% of brokers will leave the business in the next two years.
“That will open opportunity up to the insurance professionals that are still left figure out how to better serve their clients,” he says. “Smart agents are expanding their horizons and serving their client better than ever before. … It’s not going to make a difference in the end what the Supreme Court rules.”
Even so, Waltman says, NAHU cannot wait for the ruling to come out, as presently “it’s very difficult to plan anything and it affects a lot of our dealings [and] feelings. … It affects everything we are doing.”
“Just having the closure will be very helpful,” she adds. “I think we are looking for that and then we can plan accordingly. No matter what the Court does … there needs to be changes to market reform in the coming year.”
OVERNIGHT HEALTH: Still waiting for SCOTUS
06/18/12
Source: thehill.com
By Sam Baker and Elise Viebeck
The Supreme Court’s landmark healthcare ruling is just days away. More than 10,000 users tuned in for live updates Monday morning at SCOTUSblog but, as expected, the court didn’t release its highly anticipated healthcare ruling. The next possibility is Thursday, though the odds still seem to favor a ruling next week.
As the decision nears, focus is turning once again to the important issue of severability — whether the healthcare reform law’s individual mandate would have to take the whole law down with it, if it’s found to be unconstitutional. The justices can do just about anything they want on the severability question: strike down the whole law; strike out only the mandate; or strike the mandate and certain other provisions.
Any decision is sure to stir up a partisan firestorm, but a new poll released Monday indicates that the firestorm might be a bit softer if the court only strikes the mandate. In a new poll from the Pew Center for People and the Press, 43 percent of Republicans said they’d be happy with a decision striking down just the mandate, while 47 percent said they’d be unhappy. Among Democrats, 56 percent said they’d be unhappy losing just the mandate — a majority, sure, but smaller than the 74 percent who said they’d be unhappy if the court strikes down the entire law.