Insurance Journal - Does it distort "study" findings?
I ran across several articles posted on the Insurance Journal’s website. One title was Study: Cost for Non-hospital Services in Workers’ Comp Highest in Wisconsin. The title alone suggests there was some kind of a study that proves the point of higher or the highest costs for workers’ compensation programs in several states. Studies are supposed to be independent and the use of the word in the title is supposed to do the same; suggest independence from bias. But that’s not the case here. This ‘study’ was conducted by the WCRI.
The Workers Compensation Research Institute touts itself as the leading independent research organization researching and analyzing workers’ compensation issues. But it’s anything but independent or objective. First of all the “group” is not open to the public, it’s private and not anyone can join the group. Where are the lawyer members who represent injured workers? To gain access to the WCRI site you must apply for membership, a method employed by groups who do not wish members who might display objectivity that might question their methods or conclusions. These types of groups are the one’s buying influence in Washington, DC – the same ones that have our Congress in their back pockets.
If you view the WCRI member list it’s all big-business and insurance companies that are paying for the research, not organizations without an ax to grind. To be a member you must be a large self-insured employer, an insurance company, a state insurer, a reinsurance company, a national trade and professional association or national labor organization. WCRI doesn’t set a membership fee, the fee is based on how big you are; a rather telling admission to say the least. It’s just more of pay to play. There really is no difference between Democrats and Republicans; they are all working the system to promote their own agenda without regard to the taxpayers paying the bills. This organization simply promotes its own propaganda through self-serving “studies” that are more than likely rigged to give them the result they want.
Further titles suggest the Insurance Journal is just one more arm of the propaganda machine of the insurance industry. It’s the same arm that promotes fiction rather than fact for the sake of marketing and promoting the float.
See Fast Growth in Price for Non-Hospital Services in Indiana Work Comp.
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WCRI Members / 2011 |
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The following organizations support the research of WCRI. Employers Employers Aon Global Risk Consulting Insurers ACE-USA Chartis Insurance Kentucky Employers' Mutual Insurance QBE the Americas Selective Insurance Company of America, Inc. Texas Mutual Insurance Company The Travelers Companies, Inc. Contributors American Insurance Association Safeway, Inc. Associate Members – State Labor Organization
Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation Canadian Union of Public Employees The Center for Construction Research and Training North Dakota AFL-CIO Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Associate Members – Rating Organization Compensation Advisory Organization of Michigan New Jersey Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau Associate Members – Public Sector United States Alaska Division of Workers Compensation Associate Members – Public Sector International British Columbia Workers' Compensation Board (WorkSafe BC) Comcare Australia |
Comments (1)
Read through and enter the discussion by using the form at the endlink - March 9, 2012 8:01 PM
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