Missouri’s Workers Compensation Second Injury Fund has a Deficit of over $25 Million
Injured Workers still have to pay their bills and so should the State of Missouri
Auditor Tom Schweich issued a recent report stating that the Second Injury Fund had a balance of $3.2 million at the end of 2012 with $28.1 million still being owed, leaving a deficit of nearly $25 million.The options to solve this problem seem to be too complex for our Missouri State Elected as they would have to increase the cap charged to businesses insurance, cut back on benefits or end the fund all together. Instead, injured Missouri workers are left waiting while the State decides when it is going to pay it’s debt.
The 2005 bill which altered Missouri Workers Compensation law, capped what funds the Second Injury Fund. Since that time, the amount being paid out by the State has always exceeded what it is taking in. And just like their colleagues in Washington, a solution to the problem cannot come until there is no more time remaining.
What this means for the injured workers of Missouri is that they have to pay their bills on time, but the State does not have to.
