2011 Agenda 

The details will be posted as soon as they are confirmed.

2009 Agenda 

Thursday, November 5, 2009
7:30 am	8:30 am	Continental Breakfast and Workshop Registration
10:00 am	10:30 am	Break
8:30 am	11:30 am	(Choose 1 of 2 Workshops)
		Workshop #1:  The Essentials of Hawaii Workers’ Comp to Reduce Liability Risks (H8845003)
		Workshop #2:  Advanced Claims-Management Strategies: Successfully Minimizing Costs from Injury to Settlement (H8845004)
11:15 am	12:30 pm	Conference Registration and Light Lunch in Exhibit Hall
12:30 pm	12:45 pm	Opening Remarks from the Chair
12:45 pm	2:00 pm	OPENING KEYNOTE Panel Discussion: Legislative and Regulatory Update
2:00 pm	3:00 pm	HFLL, FMLA, ADA, and Workers’ Comp: Mapping the Confusing Maze of Employment Law and Hawaii Workers’ Comp
3:00 pm	3:30 pm	Networking Break in Exhibit Hall
3:30 pm	4:45 pm	FIGHTING FRAUD Processes Your Organization Can Use to Prevent Malingering and Questionable Claims
4:45 pm	6:00 pm	Networking Cocktail Reception in Exhibit Hall
6:00 pm		Day One Concludes
Friday, November 6, 2009
7:30 am	8:15 am	Continental Breakfast
8:15 am	9:45 am	KEYNOTE SESSION Managing High-Risk Employees with Preexisting Injuries or Multiple Claims
9:45 am	10:15 am	Networking Break in Exhibit Hall
10:15 am	11:15 am	MEDICARE SECONDARY PAYER STATUTE MSP Compliance Update 2009: New Requirements and Strategies to Ensure Compliance and Maximize Savings
11:15 am	12:15 pm
		RISK MANAGEMENT The Psychology of Workers’ Comp: Successfully Managing Claims of Mental Impairment and Incapacitation
12:15 pm	1:45 pm	Networking Lunch in Exhibit Hall
1:45 pm	3:00 pm
		RETURN TO WORK Emerging Trends and Best Practices in Vocational Rehabilitation and Return to Work
3:00 pm	3:15 pm	Break
3:15 pm	4:15 pm
		SAFETY UPDATE Accident and Injury Prevention in a Challenging Economy
4:15 pm		Conference Concludes
8:30 am Workshop #1 The Essentials of Hawaii Workers’ Comp to Reduce Liability Risks (H8845003) The Hawaii workers’ comp process can be fraught with land mines. Dealing simultaneously with medical professionals, handling the injured employee, managing the return-to-work process, and ensuring documentation and paperwork are complete can be a confusing and complex process. This session will give you an in-depth look at the Hawaii workers’ comp process and how you can minimize costs and lost time. Clarifying employee coverage and employment status: Is the injured worker an employee, an independent contractor, a volunteer, a contingent worker, or employed by another company? Determining the proper benefits: Answering TTD, PPD, PTD, and vocational rehab questions Establishing the true cost drivers in medical losses: Age, utilization, and prescription drugs Subrogation strategies to recoup losses from injuries and accidents Working with your medical providers to ensure quick claims resolution and return to work Milia Leong, Claims Manager, Workers’ Compensation Department JOHN MULLEN & CO., INC. Back
8:30 am Workshop #2 Advanced Claims-Management Strategies: Successfully Minimizing Costs from Injury to Settlement (H8845004) In workers’ compensation, the best defense is a good offense. From the time of the injury until the employee is back at work, there are strategies you can use to help maximize the efficiency of your claims-management process. This session will cover some of the ways you can take control of your claims process. Cost control: Subrogation in Hawaii workers’ compensation Taking control of complex medical factors involved in serious injuries Managing your experience-modification factors, reserve amounts, and more Supervising employees with preexisting or multiple workers’ comp claims to decrease the liability risks Sharon K. Ohata, CIC, CRM, MBA, Director of Training & Development ISLAND INSURANCE COMPANIES, LTD. Merideth Q. McEntire, Esq., Attorney HENDERSON GALLAGHER & KANE, AAL, ALC Back
12:30 pm Opening Remarks from the Chair Jacqueline W.S. Amai, Esq., Shareholder HENDERSON GALLAGHER & KANE, AAL, ALC Back
12:45 pm OPENING KEYNOTE Panel Discussion: Legislative and Regulatory Update This session will be a “state of the state” look at workers’ compensation in Hawaii and how it impacts Hawaii employers. Our panel of industry stakeholders will discuss the current impact of workers’ compensation on employers and emerging legislation on the horizon. Find out where things stand in Hawaii and what you can expect in the future. Moderator: Sharon K. Ohata, CIC, CRM, MBA, Director of Training & Development ISLAND INSURANCE COMPANIES, LTD. Panel: Representative Blake K. Oshiro, Majority Leader, State of Hawaii House of Representatives ALSTON, HUNT, FLOYD & ING Gary S. Hamada, Administrator, Disability Compensation Division DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, STATE OF HAWAII Carolyn Pearl, CPCU, State Relations Executive NCCI HOLDINGS, INC. Back
2:00 pm HFLL, FMLA, ADA, and Workers’ Comp: Mapping the Confusing Maze of Employment Law and Hawaii Workers’ Comp This interactive session will provide you with the compass to find your way through the treacherous jungle of leave, disability, and workers’ comp laws. Our leading employment law and workers’ comp attorneys will provide practical solutions for employers faced with complex and confusing legal obligations. Topics to be addressed include: Designing employment policies that integrate the various employment and workers’ compensation laws and statutes Navigating the overlapping leave laws in Hawaii: Family leave, domestic violence leave, military leave, workers’ comp, and more Learn how the changes to the ADA and FMLA will impact your organization Temporary disability insurance and workers’ compensation Discipline and discharge: Preventing claims of retaliation John L. Knorek, Esq., Director TORKILDSON, KATZ, MOORE, HETHERINGTON & HARRIS Back
3:30 pm FIGHTING FRAUD Processes Your Organization Can Use to Prevent Malingering and Questionable Claims Long before an accident or injury, your response plan should include strategies that discourage malingering and fraud. From setting a “zero tolerance” policy to actively investigating accidents and injuries, take a look at the processes that can protect your organization from fraudulent claims. Building a “zero tolerance” environment in your organization Analyzing your work trends to prevent convoluted claims: Telecommuting, off-site/out-of-state trips, and other “sticky” situations Developing an investigation procedure before you need one Strategies for the early identification of the red flags of questionable claims It’s fraud: What do I do now? Sylvia K. Higashi, Esq., Attorney KESSNER UMEBAYASHI BAIN & MATSUNAGA Back
8:15 am KEYNOTE SESSION Managing High-Risk Employees with Preexisting Injuries or Multiple Claims In recruiting and hiring, you must ensure you comply with the ADA and that you do not discriminate against applicants who have a disability. However, you also want the applicant to be able to do the essential functions of the job. After an employee returns to work from an injury, you want to know that he or she is functionally capable of doing the work. How can you reduce your risks without discriminating? Listen as our speakers discuss the strategies to successfully handle repeat claimants and preexisting conditions while staying on the right side of the law. Using ADA-compliant functional-assessment exams or preemployment physicals Designing job descriptions with essential functions to determine the right requirements for each position Aggravation, exacerbation, and apportionment: Everything you need to know Investigating repeat claimants to protect your organization: Is it fraud or is it a safety problem? Managing employees with chronic conditions to keep them safe and productive Tamara M. Gerrard, Esq., Director TORKILDSON, KATZ, MOORE, HETHERINGTON & HARRIS Back
10:15 am MEDICARE SECONDARY PAYER STATUTE MSP Compliance Update 2009: New Requirements and Strategies to Ensure Compliance and Maximize Savings There are significant new legal responsibilities for insurers and employers when identifying and settling claims. Failure to comply with new reporting requirements under the Medicare Secondary Payer statute can result in significant penalties. This session will provide you with clarification on new responsibilities under the statute and what you need to do to ensure compliance and maximize savings. Examining the political landscape Clarification on Section 111 reporting requirements: Who, what, when, how? What's the impact: Closing the loopholes on recovery efforts and closing the loopholes on MSA compliance issues Proactive steps every organization should be taking Implementing a multidisciplinary approach Update on legislative reform efforts Robert T. Lewis, Esq., Chief Legal Counsel CROWE PARADIS SERVICES CORPORATION Roy A. Franco, J.D., Director, Risk Management Strategies SAFEWAY, INC. Back
11:15 am RISK MANAGEMENT The Psychology of Workers’ Comp: Successfully Managing Claims of Mental Impairment and Incapacitation A claim for mental stress may be compensable unless the employer can show that the mental stress is a result of a disciplinary action that was made in good faith (or within the standards put forth in a collective bargaining agreement). This can make the defense of such claims very difficult, since you must combine workers’ compensation regulations, collective bargaining agreements, and an understanding of the psychology involved. In this session, discover what you can do to help prevent mental-stress claims, as well as how to respond if you receive one. Determining compensability factors in a mental-stress claim: What constitutes mental impairment or incapacitation? What constitutes good faith in the Hawaii workers’ comp system? Minimizing the risk of mental health claims in your organization Karen R. Tashima, Esq., Partner CHOY & TASHIMA Back
1:45 pm RETURN TO WORK Emerging Trends and Best Practices in Vocational Rehabilitation and Return to Work Most workers’ comp professionals agree that the longer an employee is out of work, the less likely it is they will return. Keeping your employees working after an injury can save you in lost days and impact your costs per claim. So, how can your organization design a return-to-work program that works for the employee and for you? In this session, our vocational rehab specialists will provide you with cutting-edge knowledge and tools you need to implement a state-of-the-art return-to-work program that incorporates proven cost containment. Developing strategies for the early identification of employees who may need more extensive vocational rehabilitation as a function of their return-to-work plan Implementing a successful vocational rehabilitation program The importance of functional assessments and job analysis to define objective barometers for meaningful transitional duties and significantly reduce lost workdays Taking advantage of work-hardening programs to increase the chance of return to work Finding alternative positions for workers who may have limited skills or physical abilities Execution of a successful interactive process to realize effective job accommodations Brian G. S. Choy, Esq., Partner CHOY & TASHIMA Back
3:15 pm SAFETY UPDATE Accident and Injury Prevention in a Challenging Economy With the recession in full swing, everyone is stressed to the limit. Employees are worried about their jobs, organizations are worried about their future, and everyone is working harder with less. Employers must ensure that employees continue to focus on prevention, including wellness and safety programs. Accident frequency, as well as accident severity, can drive up your claim costs. Safety and wellness are more important than ever to keep employees safe and productive. Handling the physiological outcomes of a high-stress life: Managing employee health to reduce risks Keeping employees engaged in a safety program to minimize accidents and injuries Investing your resources on initiatives that will have an impact: Maximizing your return on investment Measuring and improving the effectiveness of your safety and wellness programs Craig Shoji, CHST, ASP, Safety Manager GOODFELLOW BROS., INC. Back