COVID-19 Work Comp Amendment Temporarily Halted

An Illinois Judge put a temporary hold on amendments to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act which changed the burden of proof for COVID-19 exposed and injured employees.  The judge sided with big business and work comp insurance companies who claim that the change could cost them billions.  Of course, anyone who has practiced workers’ compensation law would know this is pure nonsense.  99% of the people who develop COVID-19 will not have symptoms serious enough to warrant a claim.  We know, based on statistics of exposure from the CDC, that almost all people who contract COVID-19 will have no symptoms, minor symptoms or flu like symptoms.  Some, unfortunately, will be terribly ill, but those people are in the vast minority.  So, the insurance industry is simply exaggerating so they don’t have to pick up the costs of the less than 1% who get gravely ill.  But…let’s assume the insurance industry is right.  Let’s assume that the costs will be billions of dollars.  Who should pay that?  It will be either three groups: Uninsured people (who will then have to file bankruptcy), doctors and hospitals (who will not get paid for their services) or people with group or state-based health insurance…which means the billions will be passed from work comp insurance companies to the state based insurance or group health insurance.  This proves that the work comp insurance industry does not care about the people they insure…they care only that someone else picks up the cost for people who were exposed while keeping our country moving during this crisis.