 |
|
Sitemap
Contact Us
info@txans.org
TXANS
TXANS Association of Responsible Nonsubscribers
807 Brazos Street,
Suite 802
Austin, TX 78701
Ph: 512-477-7357
Fax: 512-477-3943
|
TXANS's News/Press ReleasesClick the headline of any news item to read the full article. 05/02/2008 -- NEW PROGRAMS PROVIDE INSIGHT ON NONSUBSCRIBER INJURY BENEFIT PROGRAMS The Texas Association of Responsible Nonsubscribers (TXANS) is pleased to announce the addition of two new audio programs to its selection of services.
05/02/2008 -- TXANS AND OSHA FORM ALLIANCE FOR TEXAS NONSUBSCRIBERS The Texas Association of Responsible Nonsubscribers (TXANS) and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) have formed an alliance to provide Texas nonsubscribers with information, guidance, and access to training targeted at reducing and preventing workplace hazards.
03/10/2008 -- NEARLY FOUR HUNDRED PARTICIPATED IN TXANS 18th ANNUAL NONSUBSCRIBER CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION Nearly four hundred participated in TXANS 18th Annual Nonsubscriber
Conference & Exhibition last week in Austin, Texas. TXANS Annual
Nonsubscriber Conference & Exhibition is the nation's largest event for
employers that provide occupational injury benefits outside of workers' compensation.
01/30/2008 -- EMPLOYERS MUST POST ANNUAL INJURY & ILLNESS SUMMARY ON FEBRUARY 1st The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) requires covered employers to post the OSHA Form 300A, Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, by February 1st. Information is drawn from the OSHA Form 300, Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses which is used throughout the year to classify work-related injuries and illnesses, noting the extent and severity of each case.
12/03/2007 -- NEW FEDERAL RULE REQUIRES EMPLOYERS TO PAY FOR EMPLOYEE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT Many Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards require that employers provide employees with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when necessary. These standards address many kinds of PPE like hard hats, gloves, goggles, safety shoes, safety glasses, welding helmets and goggles, chemical protective equipment, fall protection equipment, and so forth.
12/03/2007 -- EMPLOYERS MUST TRANSITION TO NEW EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION FORM The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services section of the Department of Homeland Security has introduced a revised Employment Eligibility Verification Form (Form I-9), which employers must begin using no later than December 26, 2007.
11/02/2007 -- DATES SET FOR TXANS 18th ANNUAL NONSUBSCRIBER CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION TXANS 18th Annual Nonsubscriber Conference & Exhibition will be held March 5-6th in Austin Texas and will feature an all new line-up of educational programs specifically designed for Texas nonsubscribers and nonsubscriber industry professionals.
07/31/2007 -- PROVIDING HEALTHCARE SERVICES TO NONSUBSCRIBING BUSINESSES Significant opportunities exist for healthcare providers to provide medical services to responsible nonsubscribing employers.
07/11/2007 -- EMPLOYERS MUST POST NEW MINIMUM WAGE POSTER Effective July 25, 2007, employers must post a new minimum wage poster in their workplaces.
07/03/2007 -- NEW TXANS BENEFIT: DISCOUNT ON WORKERS' COMPENSATION NEWS SERVICE WorkCompCentral is a leading news and information service providing helpful information on workers’ compensation in Texas and other states for employers and industry professionals.
06/14/2007 -- NONSUBSCRIBERS SHOULD CONSIDER "EARLY WARNING" SAFETY SYSTEM Nonsubscribers can adopt an early warning system to help forecast potential injuries by requiring employees to report all “near hit” incidents. Near hits are unexpected events that nearly result in a workplace injury. For example, safety equipment that doesn’t perform as expected, objects stacked improperly that fall and nearly hit an employee or a slip and fall that does not result in an injury.
06/13/2007 -- EMPLOYEE VIEWS ON NONSUBSCRIBER BENEFITS NEEDED TXANS is seeking to gain information from injured employees of nonsubscribing employers to assist with lawmaker inquiries regarding employee opinions and experiences.
04/16/2007 -- SAN ANTONIO LEGISLATOR FIGHTS TO ADD AMENDMENT TO HELP TEXAS NONSUBSCRIBERS TXANS is very pleased to report that House Bill 1772 was successfully amended in the Texas House of Representatives.
04/08/2007 -- TXANS HELPS EMPLOYERS WITH REPORTING REQUIREMENTS In an effort to combat recent allegations that Texas nonsubscribers are failing to comply with state requirements for nonsubscribers, TXANS is accelerating its effort to increase awareness of reporting requirements and assist employers with injury reporting.
03/27/2007 -- TXANS TESTIFIES AGANST BILL TO REQUIRE NONSUBSCRIBERS TO RELEASE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Yesterday TXANS testified before the House Committee on Business & Industry in opposition to House Bill 1772 because it would require nonsubscribers to submit sensitive financial data related to employee injuries with no specific restrictions on how the information would be utilized.
01/29/2007 -- EMPLOYERS MUST POST OSHA SUMMARY BY FEBRUARY 1ST Employers must post OSHA's Form 300A - Summary of Job-Related Injuries and illnesses by February 1, 2007. The Form 300A summarizes recordable workplace injuries and illnesses and should not be confused with the OSHA log or Form 300.
01/28/2007 -- U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY THANKS TXANS FOR HELPING BUSINESSES PREPARE FOR EMERGENCIES Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff recently thanked TXANS for participating in a national program to help increase awareness regarding preparations for all types of emergencies rather they be natural or manmade.
01/22/2007 -- TXANS WEBSITE HONORED WITH 2nd HIGHEST RATING After searching 4.5 billion pages from the over 16 million websites hosted on the internet, Alexa, the premiere internet traffic monitoring service rated TXANS website the 2nd most popular of all workers' compensation related sites on the internet.
12/20/2006 -- TXANS SUREVEYS PROVIDE HELPFUL INFORMATION At least once a month TXANS surveys members and suppliers on important issues relating to nonsubscription. Your views and opinions are very important. They provide valuable direction on important issues, including legislative issues and educational programming.
11/15/2006 -- BILL FILING STARTS AT TEXAS CAPITOL Monday was the first day Texas lawmakers could file legislation in preparation for the 80th regular session, which is scheduled to convene on January 9, 2007. Three hundred thirty eight bills have been filed so far and several relate to Texas employers.
10/16/2006 -- LEAPFROG PUBLISHES FIRST TOP HOSPITAL LIST Fifty-nine U.S. hospitals have been named to the first Leapfrog Top Hospitals list, based on today’s results from the Leapfrog Hospital Quality and Safety Survey, a national rating system that offers a broad assessment of a hospital’s quality and safety.
09/13/2006 -- TXANS SUPPPORTS NATIONAL EMERCENCY PREPARDNESS PROGRAM The Texas Association of Responsible Nonsubscribers-TXANS is a member of the National Preparedness Month Coalition, which is comprised of more than 1,000 national, state and regional organizations. Through this effort, TXANS and other organizations across America will help and encourage their members to prepare for all types of emergencies.
08/03/2006 -- WORKPLACE INJURY PREVENTION FOR NONSUBSCRIBING BUSINESSES Employers benefit from workplace safety programs for many reasons. First and foremost workplace safety programs help spare employees and their families the damaging consequences associated with the nearly 4 million injuries and more than 6,000 fatalities that occur in U.S. workplaces each year. Workplace safety programs also help to reduce the estimated $255 billion spent on work related injuries annually.
08/03/2006 -- COMMITMENT TO INJURED EMPLOYEES REDUCES COSTS FOR NONSUBSCRIBERS One of the most important ways an employer can succeed as a responsible nonsubscriber is to ensure employees receive quality medical care following a work-related injury.
08/03/2006 -- FORM 5500 FOR NONSUBSCRIBERS Each year qualifying pension and welfare benefit plans (ERISA plans) are required to file an annual return/report with the Internal Revenue Service. The annual reporting requirement is generally satisfied by filing the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan.
07/06/2006 -- TXANS SUPPLIERS PROVIDE SPECIALIZED SERVICES FOR NONSUBSCRIBERS Companies that provide products and services to help businesses succeed as responsible nonsubscribers participate in TXANS as a TXANS Supplier. TXANS Supplies offer specialized services for nonsubscribers in such fields as insurance, legal, healthcare, claims, safety, risk management, investigation and more.
06/02/2006 -- PREVENTING EYE INJURIES AT WORK Each day, about 2,000 US workers receive medical treatment because of eye injuries they sustained in the workplace. Workplace injury is a leading cause of eye trauma, vision loss, disability and blindness.
06/02/2006 -- DEADLINE FOR NEW NONSUBSCRIBER FORMS AND NOTICES If you haven’t seen one of TXANS new forms announcements already the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) at the Texas Department of Insurance has prepared new forms and posting notices for nonsubscribing businesses.
06/02/2006 -- BUSINESSES TO PLAY KEY ROLE IN FEDERAL BIRD FLU PREPARATIONS Avian influenza more commonly known as bird flu is a disease of birds caused by the influenza virus. Bird flu viruses do not usually infect humans but in the past few years there have been a number of confirmed cases of human infection from bird flu viruses. In the event of pandemic influenza, businesses will play a key role in protecting employees' health and safety as well as limiting the negative impact to the economy and society.
04/11/2006 -- TXANS ANNOUNCES NEW MEMBER BENEFIT: TXANS’ KNOWLEDGE CENTER To add to the already outstanding list of member benefits, TXANS is pleased announce TXANS Knowledge Center. This new service provides TXANS’ members access to a library of thousands of pages of nonsubscriber-related documents 24/7. The information includes:
04/04/2006 -- EMPLOYERS LEARN NEW WAYS TO ENHANCE TEXAS NONSUBSCRIBER PROGRAMS More than four hundred nonsubscribing employers and nonsubscriber industry professionals participated recently in TXANS’ 16th Annual Nonsubscriber Conference and Exhibition in Austin, Texas.
03/06/2006 -- NEW STATE FORMS & NOTICES FOR NONSUBSCRIBING BUSINESSES The state-required notices for both nonsubscribing and subscribing businesses have been updated to reflect the new administration, the Texas Department of Insurance-Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC).
01/27/2006 -- EMPLOYERS MUST POST OSHA ANNUAL SUMMARY BY FEBRUARY 1ST Employers must post OSHA's Summary of Job-Related Injuries and Illnesses-OSHA Form 300A (not the OSHA log-OSHA Form 300) regarding injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2005 by February 1, 2006.
01/01/2006 -- NEW LAW REQUIRES CERTAIN BUSINESSES TO ADOPT INJURY CONTROL PLANS Effective January 1, 2006 Texas hospitals, including general or special hospitals, private mental hospitals, licensed a nursing homes and others are required to adopt and implement policies to identify, assess, and develop strategies to control the risk of injury to patients and nurses associated with the lifting, transferring, repositioning or movement of patients.
11/25/2005 -- NEW LAW AFFECTS BUSINESSES THAT CHOOSE TO OPERATE WITHOUT WORKERS' COMPENSATION COVERAGE The Texas Association of Responsible Nonsubscribers (TXANS) reports that businesses that elect to operate as nonsubscribers to the workers’ compensation system should review their injury benefit programs to make sure they are in compliance with new provisions contained in the most recent workers’ compensation reform law that became effective on September 1, 2005.
11/01/2005 -- TXANS PROVIDES NEW MEMBER SERVICE TXANS is pleased to announce another new member service—a list of available jobs in the nonsubscriber field. Listings are available by clicking on “Jobs,” in the left-hand margin if the TXANS Newsletter.
08/08/2005 -- PUBLIC COMMENTS REQUESTED ON NEW MEDICAL NETWORK RULES On Friday, August 5th, the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) released informal “working draft” rules for the workers’ compensation health care networks, whose creation was mandated in the workers’ compensation reform legislation passed by the 79th Legislature.
05/12/2005 -- TXANS PRESENTS ARTICLE ON MANAGING NONSUBSCRIBER INJURY BENEFIT CLAIMS One of the advantages of operating as responsible nonsubscriber is the ability to implement a program to manage injury benefit claims. The rewards for adopting an effective program are primarily quality benefits for injured employees and cost savings for employers. The main difference between a nonsubscriber claim and a claim for workers' compensation benefits is...
04/14/2005 -- REPRESENTATIVE FRED BROWN RECEIVES TXANS' FREEDOM AWARD State Representative Fred Brown (R-Bryan) was awarded TXANS 2005 Freedom Award at TXANS' 2005 Annual Nonsubscriber Conference & Exhibition for his efforts on behalf of Texas nonsubscribers.
03/22/2005 -- TXANS TESTIFIES ON LEGISLATION TO ALLOW NONSUBSCRIBERS TO BID ON STATE CONTRACTS Current law prohibits nonsubscribing businesses from bidding on state building and construction projects but State Representative Fred Brown hopes to change that.
03/13/2005 -- NONSUBSCRIBER LEGISLATION FILED Several bills filed this week would impact nonsubscribers if enacted into law.
02/01/2005 -- OSHA POSTING DEADLINE - FEBRUARY 1, 2005 Employers must post OSHA's Summary of Job-Related Injuries and Illnesses- OSHA Form 300A (not the OSHA log) regarding injuries and Illnesses that occurred in 2004 starting February 1st 2005.
01/26/2005 -- PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION ISSUES FAVORABLE REPORT ON TEXAS BUSINESSES THAT PROVIDE BENEFITS AS NONSUBSCRIBERS A report entitled, Legislators Guide to the Issues 2005-2006 was issued today by the Texas Public Policy Foundation (“TPPF”) during its 3rd Annual Policy Orientation for the Texas Legislature. The TPPF used the positive experiences realized by nonsubscribing businesses to make recommendations concerning the Texas Workers’ Compensation System.
01/11/2005 -- TXANS WILL CONTINUE TO DEFEND RESPONSIBLE NONSUBSCRIBER OPTION DURING 79TH LEGISLATURE The 79th session of the Texas Legislature convened just a few hours ago and one of the primary issues legislators will address this session is reforming the Texas workers' compensation system.
12/01/2004 -- SAVE THE DATE - TXANS 15th ANNUAL NONSUBSCRIBER CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION TXANS' 15th Annual Nonsubscriber Conference & Exhibition is planned for March 30-31, 2005 in Austin, Texas.
11/01/2004 -- STUDY OF TEXAS EMPLOYEES REPORTS HIGHER NIGHT-TIME INJURY RATES Employees who work at night may have job duties that are more hazardous and this has some impact on increased nighttime injury rates. However, this factor alone cannot explain higher nighttime injury rates.
10/12/2004 -- LAWMAKER TO SPEAK AT TXANS' NORTH TEXAS CHAPTERS The Honorable William "Bill" Zedler (R-Arlington) will speak to a joint meeting of TXANS' Dallas and Fort Worth Chapters on Friday, October 22, 2004. Representative Zedler will provide valuable insight into the upcoming 2005 Legislative Session, which will convene as the 79th Legislature in January 2005
10/09/2004 -- SELF-INSURED AND NONSUBSCRIBING BUSINESSES - WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE? The terms self-insurance and self-insured are sometimes used to define businesses that are certified to self-insure their workers' compensation program or nonsubscribers that self-insure their occupational injury benefit program. While both programs involve employers "self-insuring" occupational benefits, there are important distinctions to be made.
10/01/2004 -- TXANS PRESENTS ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF NONSUBSCRIPTION AT LEGISLATIVE HEARING The House Committee on Economic Development, which is chaired by State Representative Jim Keffer (R-Eastland), met recently to consider testimony regarding the impact of workers' compensation on the Texas economy.
08/19/2004 -- NEW REPORT REVIEWS THE POSITIVE ROLE OF COMPETITION IN HEALTH CARE The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice issued a joint report, Improving Health Care: A Dose of Competition, which culminates a two-year project. The report studies the role of competition in the health care industry and provides recommendations to improve the balance between competition and regulation.
08/19/2004 -- LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL INTERIM CHARGE ON WORKERS' COMPENSATION On the heels of new numbers from the Texas Department of Insurance showing that workers' compensation insurance carriers are charging higher premiums even though claim costs are decreasing, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst announced today an additional interim charge to study the pricing of workers' compensation premiums in Texas.
06/10/2004 -- STATE TO CONDUCT SURVEY OF NONSUBSCRIBING BUSINESSES Texas A&M University is conducting a survey of nonsubscribing businesses for the Texas Department of Insurance. Data will be used by the Texas Legislature.
06/01/2004 -- ERISA FILING REQUIREMENTS FOR NONSUBSCRIBER INJURY BENEFIT PLANS ERISA requires a welfare benefit plan to file an Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan (Form 5500) and any required attachments by the end of the 7th month following the end of each plan year.
The U.S. Department of Labor, Internal Revenue Service and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation jointly developed the forms so employee benefit plans could utilize the Form 5500 to satisfy annual reporting requirements under Title I and Title IV of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code.
06/01/2004 -- MEDICAL PROVIDERS TURN TO NONSUBSCRIBING BUSINESSES Decreased fees and increased regulation have prompted medical providers to join the growing list of interests frustrated with the Texas workers' compensation system. And in response to their concerns, an increasing number of providers are not only discontinuing treatment of workers' compensation patients (leaving some rural areas of Texas without options for care) but also increasing efforts to attract business from nonsubscribing employers.
04/11/2004 -- TXANS SUPPLIER DIRECTORY NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE TXANS' Online Directory of Nonsubscriber Industry Professionals, which is now available on TXANS' website, enables Texas nonsubscribers to identify industry professionals that offer nonsubscriber products and services.
04/01/2004 -- TXANS CONFERENCE ATTENDEES INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN GOVERNOR FOR A DAY CELEBRATION Tickets are available for TXANS 2004 Annual Nonsubscriber Conference and Exhibition attendees to participate in Texas Governor for A Day Celebration at the State Capitol.
03/01/2004 -- HIPAA REGULATIONS EXPAND TO SMALL PLANS - ARE NONSUBSCRIBER PLANS AFFECTED? On April 14th 2004 many "small" health plans must comply with HIPAA privacy regulations. Are Nonsubscriber Injury Benefit Plans Affected?
02/04/2004 -- SENATOR DEFENDS RESPONSIBLE NONSUBSCRIBERS Senator Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound) voiced her support for nonsubscription during the discussion of Texas nonsubscribers at the hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Workers’ Compensation.
12/04/2003 -- TEXAS SUNSET ADVISORY COMMISSION SEEKS RECOMMENDATIONS ON WORKERS' COMPENSATION SYSTEM The Texas Sunset Advisory Commission is seeking comments regarding the Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission and TXANS is assisting with this endeavor by asking for your input.
08/08/2003 -- CHANGE IN STATE INJURY REPORTING REQUIREMENT AFFECTS NONSUBSCRIBERS Employers that are required to report injuries and illnesses to Texas Workers' Compensation Commission (TWCC) must do so using their NAICS codes instead of SIC codes.
02/01/2003 -- BILLS FILED TO HELP NONSUBSCRIBING BUSINESSES Bills have been filed in the Texas House to support nonsubscribing businesses.
|
