Current Position:
Project Director, Research Specialist

Academic Degrees:

• University of California at Berkeley, Graduate School of Public Policy: Masters of Public Policy
  
• University of California at Los Angeles: B. A. Economics

Research Interests:
Social insurance including workers’ compensation, rehabilitation, disability measurement, and occupational safety

Frank Neuhauser is on the Research Faculty at the Survey Research Center and acts as a project director on numerous projects in the area of social insurance including workers’ compensation, rehabilitation, disability measurement, litigation alternatives and occupational safety. Project work involves survey development, data base analysis, records comparisons, and data analysis over periods up to 3 years. Mr. Neuhauser directs projects evaluating the impact of reform legislation on the vocational rehabilitation benefit (for the Commission On Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation), analyzing medical-legal evaluations and various dispute resolution processes in determining permanent disability levels, the manner in which California evaluates the permanent disabilities that result from work injuries (in partnership with RAND), the quality of medical-legal reports written by physicians with different levels of professional qualification (for the Industrial Medical Council), the privatization of the workers’ compensation system (with Haas Business School), judicial reform in the administrative law process, pharmaceutical pricing (State of California and the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions), and examination of different aspects of fraud (California Department of Insurance). Project direction includes all aspects form proposal writing, budgeting, hiring, analysis, and report writing, to presentation of results to small and large audiences.

In 1994, Mr. Neuhauser developed a contract with the California Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) and negotiated the participation of UC DATA. Assessed the data resources and data needs of the DWC for both administration and research. Assessed the needs of outside interest groups and led the development of a consensus among interest groups, the DWC, and political players on data needs. Resulted in a report, co-authored with project P.I.s specifying information system elements and design. Worked with the DWC to recommend changes in management to increase the impact of the new information system. This report has been released to the public and was the basis for continued work with the Division.

Recent Awards/Honors:

• National Academy of Social Insurance—Member--2006
  
• International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions — 2006 Award of Merit.

Selected Publications:

• Apportioning Impairment to Cause: A First Look at California’s Application of a New Standard for Permanent Disability Benefits.” Journal of the IAIABC, Vol. 45(1) Spring 2008. Forthcoming.
  
  
• “Evaluating Permanent Disability Ratings Using Empirical Data on Earnings Losses.” With Seth A. Seabury and Robert T. Reville. Journal of Risk and Insurance, Vol. 75(1) March, 2008, Forthcoming.
  
  
• “Spinal Surgery in Workers’ Compensation: A Case for the Second Opinion Process?” IAIABC Journal, Vol. 43 (1) Spring, 2006.
  
  
• “Physician Shopping in Workers’ Compensation: Evidence from California.” With Seth Seabury and Robert T. Reville. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, Vol. 3(1), March 2006.
  
  
• “Comparing Jurisdictional Data on Occupational Injuries.” IAIABC Journal, Vol. 41(1) Winter/Spring 2004.
  
  
• The Effect of Increased Workers’ Compensation Benefits on the Duration and Frequency of Benefit Receipt.” With Steven Raphael, Review of Economics and Statistics, Feb. 2004.
  
  
• ”Improving Dispute Resolution for California's Injured Workers,” With Nicholas M. Pace, Robert T. Reville, Lionel Galway, Amanda B. Geller, Orla Hayden, Laural A. Hill, Christopher Mardesich, Suzanne Polich, Jane Yeom, and Laura Zakaras. Institute for Civil Justice, RAND. April 2003.