In a GRAMA request, I obtained documents from the Labor Commission regarding the selection of doctors to sit on medical panels to stand in judgment of persons with workers’ compensation injuries.
It bore out my concerns. It appears that the Labor Commission conducts its interviews and screens doctors in a way to eliminate any physicians who are viewed as "patient friendly," or who are viewed as too liberal. There is no effort to eliminate doctors who are too conservative or too “insurance friendly.” The system errs in favor of misery. I want a system that is not so obviously one-sided.
Also, there are an equal number of female and male physicians who apply to perform this service, but there are very few female physicians who are selected. I'm not sure what this means. That statistic, standing alone, does not mean that there is discrimination. There may be other explanations (e.g., more females declined to participate and I may not have all of the information), but it is troubling.
There is always so much media attention about allegations of people scamming the system, which provides benefits for disability or injuries. This should not be surprising. I have seen it myself. But it is rare. There will always be those who try to get something for nothing or when they don’t deserve it, whether in obtaining government contracts to provide services and products, working for the government, or requesting benefits (or for the private sector).
On the other side of the ledger, there is hardly ever any media attention given when the system unfairly denies government contracts, employment, or entitlements. As human beings, we should be just as disconcerted. Does it happen? Yes. My anecdotal belief, based on my own experience, is that it happens more often than there is fraud – but you won't see undercover investigations about that. Nobody cares.
As an attorney who provides services to the underclass, the under-trodden, and the desperate, we should not be so quick to err in favor of misery. We should understand that some will be undeserving, but we need to still be compassionate, yet vigilant. When vigilance uncovers fraud, let’s take care of it quickly, while still, when uncertain, giving our fellow brothers and sisters the benefit of the doubt.
Loren M. Lambert © January 13, 2014
It bore out my concerns. It appears that the Labor Commission conducts its interviews and screens doctors in a way to eliminate any physicians who are viewed as "patient friendly," or who are viewed as too liberal. There is no effort to eliminate doctors who are too conservative or too “insurance friendly.” The system errs in favor of misery. I want a system that is not so obviously one-sided.
Also, there are an equal number of female and male physicians who apply to perform this service, but there are very few female physicians who are selected. I'm not sure what this means. That statistic, standing alone, does not mean that there is discrimination. There may be other explanations (e.g., more females declined to participate and I may not have all of the information), but it is troubling.
There is always so much media attention about allegations of people scamming the system, which provides benefits for disability or injuries. This should not be surprising. I have seen it myself. But it is rare. There will always be those who try to get something for nothing or when they don’t deserve it, whether in obtaining government contracts to provide services and products, working for the government, or requesting benefits (or for the private sector).
On the other side of the ledger, there is hardly ever any media attention given when the system unfairly denies government contracts, employment, or entitlements. As human beings, we should be just as disconcerted. Does it happen? Yes. My anecdotal belief, based on my own experience, is that it happens more often than there is fraud – but you won't see undercover investigations about that. Nobody cares.
As an attorney who provides services to the underclass, the under-trodden, and the desperate, we should not be so quick to err in favor of misery. We should understand that some will be undeserving, but we need to still be compassionate, yet vigilant. When vigilance uncovers fraud, let’s take care of it quickly, while still, when uncertain, giving our fellow brothers and sisters the benefit of the doubt.
Loren M. Lambert © January 13, 2014
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