| Preface |
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iii | |
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vii | |
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ix | |
| Summary |
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xi | |
| Acknowledgments |
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xix | |
| Abbreviations |
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xxi | |
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1 | (4) |
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Organization of the Report |
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2 | (3) |
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Chapter Two Background and Overview of Study |
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5 | (16) |
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Policy Context for the Return-to-Work Fund |
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5 | (7) |
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Permanent Disability Ratings and Workers' Compensation Reform in California |
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6 | (3) |
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Senate Bill 899 and Adoption of the AMA Guides |
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9 | (2) |
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Reforms to Permanent Partial Disability Benefits in Senate Bill 863 |
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11 | (1) |
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Establishment of the Return-to-Work Supplement Program |
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12 | (4) |
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Anticipated Effects of the Return-to-Work Supplement Program |
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13 | (3) |
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16 | (5) |
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16 | (1) |
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Approach and Study Design |
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16 | (5) |
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Chapter Three Operation of the Return-to-Work Supplement Program |
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21 | (14) |
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Overview of the Return-to-Work Supplement Program |
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21 | (1) |
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Return-to-Work Supplement Program Operation and Timeline |
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21 | (8) |
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Maximum Medical Improvement and the Return to Work & Voucher Report |
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21 | (2) |
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Qualifying Work Offers and SJDB Voucher Issuance |
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23 | (1) |
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Application Process and Eligibility Criteria |
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24 | (1) |
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Approval and Payment Issuance |
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25 | (1) |
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Denials and Appeals Process |
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26 | (3) |
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Application Volumes and Timeliness of Processing |
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29 | (4) |
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Volume and Utilization of SJDB Voucher Since SB 863 |
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31 | (2) |
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33 | (2) |
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Chapter Four California's Return-to-Work Supplement Program from the Perspective of Key Stakeholders |
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35 | (14) |
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Context Surrounding the RTWSP and the SJDB Voucher Issuance |
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35 | (3) |
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35 | (2) |
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Behavior Changes Since RTW Fund Implementation |
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37 | (1) |
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Does the RTWSP Target Workers with Disproportionately Low Earnings Loss? |
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38 | (2) |
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Are Barriers Preventing Eligible Workers from Receiving the Supplement? |
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40 | (3) |
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40 | (1) |
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RTW Supplement Application Process |
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41 | (1) |
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Physician Reporting Process |
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41 | (1) |
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Instructions and Content of RTW & Voucher Report |
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42 | (1) |
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Is the RTWSP Vulnerable to Fraud and Abuse? |
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43 | (1) |
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Is the SJDB Process Vulnerable to Fraud and Abuse? |
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44 | (1) |
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45 | (4) |
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Chapter Five Data Sources and Methods for Quantitative Analysis |
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49 | (8) |
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Data Sources for Quantitative Analysis of the RTWSP |
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49 | (6) |
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The Workers' Compensation Information System |
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50 | (2) |
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52 | (1) |
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53 | (1) |
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53 | (1) |
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Other Public-Use Data Sets: Federal Communications Commission, American Community Survey, and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages |
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54 | (1) |
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Description of Analytic Samples and Methods |
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55 | (2) |
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Chapter Six Targeting and Take-Up of the RTWSP |
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57 | (16) |
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57 | (9) |
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Take-Up of the RTWSP Among Eligible Workers and Patterns of SJDB Voucher Issuance |
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66 | (7) |
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Chapter Seven Eligible Population and Program Cost Estimates |
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73 | (18) |
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Estimates of the Eligible Population |
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73 | (16) |
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Estimates of Current Take-Up Rates |
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74 | (2) |
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SJDB Eligibility Among PD Workers |
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76 | (2) |
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Estimating the PD Injury Population |
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78 | (1) |
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SJDB and RTWSP Receipt Among Workers Without PPD Payments |
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79 | (2) |
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Differences in Application Timing Across Injury Years Suggest That RTWSP Application Volumes Have Not Yet Stabilized |
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81 | (4) |
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How Might the Cost of the RTWSP Change Over the Business Cycle? |
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85 | (4) |
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89 | (2) |
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Chapter Eight Policy Options to Improve the RTWSP and Related Processes |
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91 | (14) |
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Policy Options to Improve the RTWSP |
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91 | (14) |
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Policy Options to Increase RTWSP Take-Up |
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91 | (6) |
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Policy Options to Modify RTWSP Targeting |
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97 | (2) |
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99 | (6) |
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Chapter Nine Conclusions and Policy Recommendations |
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105 | (4) |
| References |
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109 | (6) |
| Appendix A Qualitative Information |
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115 | (16) |
| Appendix B Data Sources, Methods, and Supplementary Results for Quantitative Analysis |
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131 | |
