State lawmakers considering changes to the Second Injury Fund are reminded they need to concentrate on an immediate problem before tackling other issues with the fund.

State Labor Director Omar Davis has heard lawmakers talk about many aspects of the Second Injury Fund. He wants the discussion re-focused, "We have a crisis right now in the fund, with revenue not meeting expected expenditures."

Davis says much of the talk among members of a special House committee studying the fund has been focused on the long term. Davis reminds members two separate audits indicate the fund is on the brink of insolvency. A state audit issued earlier this year forecast that expenditures from the fund would exceed revenue by $57 million. The audit stated that changes made by lawmakers in 2005 would reduce costs to the fund in the long-term, but would not come in time to stem the short-term financial problems.

It’s certain the fund can’t take hits like the one described to the committee by Workers Compensation Division Director Jeff Buker. A 2005 accident left a truck-driver passing through the state with extensive injuries. The only tie to Missouri was that the accident occurred in the state. He wasn’t a Missourian and the company wasn’t from Missouri. Still, the Second Injury Fund has paid more than $1 million in medical bills and will continue to pay for the trucker’s care.

Both Buker and Davis say such cases can be addressed by the legislature, after it deals with the looming short-term problem.

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:60 MP3)

It appears certain the state’s Second Injury Fund is heading for bankruptcy; what to do about that is all but certain.

The Special Interim Committee on Second Injury Fund is holding hearings on the issue. Lawmakers made changes to the Second Injury Fund in 2005, but those changes won’t reduce costs in time to relieve the short-term problem of expenditures outpacing revenue by more than $57 million the next two years. Lawmakers differ on how they view the problem.

Rep. Steve Hunter (R-Joplin) objects to workers who make claims for non-work related injuries just prior to retiring. Hunter compares reaching a $60,000 settlement with the Second Injury Fund just before retirement to payola. He says it’s better than slots, because the odds of getting the pay-off are greater.

But Rep. John Burnett (D-Kansas City) counters that in order to get that payment, a worker must suffer a permanently disabling injury. He remarks that such workers don’t just get to hit this "slot machine" without suffering a physical injury that renders the worker permanently and totally disabled.

Though the hearing listened to a range of perceived problems with the fund, the real problem is the short-term. Audits indicate long-term stability due to the 2005 changes.

Hunter isn’t optimistic the legislature will approve a fix next year. He calls himself a realist in assessing the unlikelihood of approving changes to the Second Injury Fund during an election year.

Created in 1943, the Second Injury Fund provides benefits for disabled workers or workers injured on the job who suffered previous injuries.

A real question lingers out there for the committee. If the fund becomes insolvent, who is liable for payments to workers incurring a second injury?

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:60 MP3)