September 1, 2017

To our Valued Partners:

The past week has been filled with heartbreaking loss for many of our Texas neighbors to the South.  If you or someone in your life has been affected by the events of Hurricane Harvey, please know your PartnerSource family holds you in our thoughts and prayers.

We understand that right now, some of you are immediately focused on the safety and well-being of your family and co-workers.  Many Risk Management Departments are also now focused on operational challenges and catastrophic property losses, both personal and professional.  We offer you our support.  If your risk management department or claims adjusting team needs immediate assistance with any tasks we are able to perform for you (for example, attempting to locate displaced injured workers, conveying any desired message to your injured workers or navigating difficult course and scope or claim denial issues), we want to help!

In the meantime and during the challenging weeks ahead, we offer the following advice to consider when administering your Texas occupational injury program:

• Ask your claims team to be mindful of the counties and small towns impacted by the storms.  The devastation is not limited to Houston.  Governor Greg Abbott has proclaimed a state of disaster for the following counties:

• For any claimant living and/or working in an impacted area, consider generously relaxing deadlines and obligations.  Deviations from normal administration practices can and should occur during unusual circumstances.  In fact, the Department of Labor issued a news release on August 30, 2017 advising the following:

The guiding principle for plans must be to act reasonably, prudently and in the interest of the workers and their families who rely on their health plans for their physical and economic well-being.  Plan fiduciaries should make reasonable accommodations to prevent the loss of benefits in such cases and should take steps to minimize the possibility of individuals losing benefits because of a failure to comply with pre-established time frames.

• Consider offering injured workers an opportunity to temporarily suspend their benefit claim if circumstances prevent the injured worker from pursuing medical care.  A temporary suspension of the claim allows an injured worker to preserve his eligibility for benefits for a defined period of time while pursuing more pressing personal concerns.
  
  
• For injured workers who were receiving wage replacement benefits prior to the disaster ans where your investigation merits some leniency, continue to pay those benefits until the disaster proclamation expires or until the injured worker is otherwise released to return to work.
  
  
• Relax approved provider rules in those impacted areas where physicians and facilities are limited.

We anticipate discussing these issues and other unique concerns at our annual employer conference in Dallas on October 19-20.  We will also make a concerted effort to communicate this information and training for anyone unable to attend because of this catastrophic event.

We applaud and encourage you and your dedicated team, as we know you are working tirelessly to timely, appropriately and successfully respond to many competing needs.  We appreciate being on your team and we are here, at your service.

With Texas Pride,