myMatrixx parent company, Cigna is seeing a wide range of proposals throughout the states on how to address the impact on COVID-19 on the medical and workers’ compensation system. In the area of workers’ compensation benefits, most efforts today point to enactment of legislation or regulations that would define the virus as a presumptive occupational disease for a wide range of occupations, including first responders and front-line health care providers. Some states may look to expand the number of occupations that would be eligible by including workers of critical and essential services that have remained open. Others are considering ensuring that a COVID-19 benefit is available to injured workers, but not going as far as creating an automatic presumption that work is the cause of contracting the illness.
Our State Government Affairs team is monitoring this activity and engaging experts to understand and evaluate the impact on employers and insurers alike.