It came to the attention of MNHLRP that one of Minnesota’s best employers, Starkey Labs, in a serious attempt to lower Workers Compensation costs found great success using 146A practitioners with no supervision by licensed practitioners. Greg Schmidt, President of MHNLRP and Kathryn Berg, Vice-President of MNHLRP visited with Larry Miller, VP of Human Resources at Starkey to find out more.
Fifteen years ago, Starkey had over 1.3 million dollars annually in workman’s compensation claims, primarily due to Repetitive Stress Injuries, or Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). Mr. Miller was given responsibility for lowering those costs. Having had experienced Rolfing years before, he remembered how it helped him. (For more information on rolfing, please go to www.rolf.org.)
They brought in a Advanced Certified Rolfer to work first on the 17 people who had been diagnosed with CTS. One woman had had surgery on one of her hands and was scheduled to have surgery on the other. 15 years later, she still doesn’t have carpal tunnel in the hand that was Rolfed. At that time Carpal Tunnel surgery cost anywhere from $35,000 to $50,000. Rolfing was $800. AND it worked.
Another employee had been going to the chiropractor 1x/week for years. He decided to be part of the pilot program. Now he sees the on-site Rolfer 2x/year.
- Since implementing the on-site Rolfing program, they have gone from $150,000/mo in Work Comp claims to $58,000/year in Work Comp Claims. The work force has increased in number, but the Work Comp Claims have decreased.
- Miller estimates that Starkey has saved a minimum of $10 million and possibly as high as $20 million over 15 years.
- Starkey pays $80,000/year for Rolfing. If Miller goes over budget for Rolfing any particular year, the owner doesn’t care.
- Their Work Comp expenses are less than ½ the national bench mark for light electronic assembly. $345,000/year in claims is considered really good nationally.
- Starkey’s MOD rate is 55. Most companies can’t get lower than 70. He believes this is the lowest rating in the country for light electronic assembly.
- They have a VERY high deductible for the Work Comp insurance, so it really never kicks in.
The on-site Rolfing covers only the shoulders, hands, arms, etc. But if the Rolfer feels that a particular client needs an entire 10 session fix, it is partially covered by their self-funded health insurance.
Today, Rolfing is just part of the culture at Starkey. There was never a corporate edict, no corporate memo was sent. Anyone can get Rolfed at Starkey. They try to prevent injuries by using Rolfing. But it isn’t just about trying to prevent injuries, it is trying to make people comfortable. They haven’t had a CTS problem in 15 years. New hires get a session with the Rolfer right away to develop a baseline.
The Mayo Clinic came to Starkey to investigate how they could incorporate this into the clinic. They had NO idea what to do with it, and so, did nothing.
An unexpected benefit of the Rolfing program at Starkey is that their cost per hire is 50% of the national average. They have higher retention rates than most companies in light electronic assembly and they have an easier time recruiting employees. Miller’s view is that the employees know that the employer cares about them and wants them to feel good. An employee with fewer health issues has fewer days absent and wants to come to work. There is no antagonism between employers and employees as regards work related injuries.
Miller estimates that they have saved over $10 million and possibly as much as $20 million in 15 years since introducing the Rolfing program. As he says, it is hard to estimate the cost of something that doesn’t happen. For example, they have no missed work days for RSI’s. It is estimated that RSI’s cost the country $20 billion per year. (That number has appeared since 1997, so it is likely higher now.)
If Labor and Industry are really serious about lowering Workers Compensation Costs, they would repeal Minnesota Statute 176.135, subd 1b.
