ZIEGENHORN: WORKERS' COMPENSATION PROBLEMS WILL BE SOLVED

SIKESTON - State Rep. Dennis Ziegenhorn, D-Sikeston, co-chairman of a joint interim legislative committee studying problems with workers' compensation insurance, said Monday he believes some significant legislation will be proposed by the committee.

"There is a lot of interest in this issue and we are doing everything possible to gather all the information we can to fully understand the problems," said Ziegenhorn.

The committee already has held hearings in Cape Girardeau, St. Louis and Kansas City, and on Dec. 11-12 will hold a final hearing in Jefferson City. The panel will begin reviewing ideas for legislation at that meeting, but probably will not finalize anything until early next year when lawmakers return to session, Ziegenhorn said.

"I think we are going to come up with some type of a solution, but right now I'm not sure what it is," he said. "We have all the interested parties working together to try and come up with something that will address the total problem."

In the past, workers' compensation issues have been dealt with by the House Labor Committee. But this year, Ziegenhorn, as chairman of the insurance committee, is co-chairing the House delegation with Rep. Jim Riley, D-Richmond Heights, who chairs the labor committee.

On the Senate side, Sen. Henry Panethiere, D-Kansas City, is serving as chairman.

Ziegenhorn said he believes the new approach will be effective by having business, labor, and all groups involved working together toward a solution.

Representatives of the Missouri Department of Insurance and the Division of Employment Security and various interest groups have been traveling with the committee at its hearings around the state to gather information and provide the panel with input as needed.

Skyrocketing rates for workers' compensation insurance coverage is driving many employers out of business and threatening others, said Ziegenhorn.

"This is really a major crisis we need to find a reasonable solution to," he said. "If we don't come up with something, a lot of small businesses are simply going to go under because they can't afford the rates."

One of the big problems the committee has found is with the National Council on Compensation Insurance, which determines what fair and reasonable rates should be for the Department of Insurance, he said.

"There has been a lot of discussion about NCCI and their role," said Ziegenhorn. "One of the things we found is that they are supposedly a not-for-profit company making lots of money."

When the committee first began its work in August, Ziegenhorn said he realized there were a lot of problems, but now, after participating in hearings, the situation is far more serious.

"The problem is getting worse every day," he said. "I think the problem is worse than we thought it was when we began this process, and it was pretty bad when we got started.

"It will be a major catastrophe if we don't get a solution; many employers can't afford to pay it any longer. We don't have any choice but to act quickly."