Of the 17 years Kim Floyd has worked for the Wyoming AFL-CIO, he said the past five months have been the most difficult.

During that time, the labor organization held a series of forums across the state for injured workers to discuss their problems with Wyoming's workers' compensation system.

"We had no idea there were so many," Floyd told the Legislature's Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Interim Committee in Casper Tuesday.

Workers' compensation does a good job of taking care of small claims, such as a broken foot, Floyd said.

"They get their medical bills paid, get back to work and are having a pretty good experience," Floyd said. "It's the long-term injuries that are a problem. It's really difficult to talk to an injured worker who sat there for eight months with no money and they lost their house and car."

The legislative committee heard from about a dozen of those workers Monday during the first day of testimony. They also heard from the state Workers' Compensation Division, employers and physicians.

There is enough money in workers' compensation to increase benefits while decreasing employer premiums, said George Santini, a lawyer.

The Legislature needs to look at permanent disability benefits with the possibility of extending them and adjusting for cost-of-living increases, Santini said Tuesday. Currently, the benefits don't do that.

Some states provide for enhanced benefits if a worker's contested case is delayed and he eventually wins, Santini said.

Floyd said mental health benefits need to be restored. They were available in 1994.

"We're not asking for the moon, [but] there has to be guidelines," Floyd said. "But the iron worker who watched his co-worker fall to his death, we need some help to get him back to work."

Floyd also reminded the committee that not all Wyoming workers have workers' compensation. For example, retail workers are exempt but can still injure their backs lifting, he said.

After listening to testimony the past two days, the committee devised a list of possible areas it could cover in the next legislative session. Legislators' ideas include:

* Cover all Wyoming workers. "We have a lot of Wyoming workers who are not covered," said Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper.

Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, agreed this item needs to be addressed, but said there might have to be some exceptions for sole-proprietorships.

* Fix some delays within the system. "We hear loud and clear about the length of time it takes to get contested cases through," Scott said. "Being able to get a firm decision seems to be a huge problem for injured workers."

The Legislature could help by adding staff to the Workers' Compensation Division.

An analyst's average caseload in the division is almost 300, said Rep. Mary Hales, D-Casper, while the national average is 150 to 175. With more staff, the division could get through cases quicker and do a better job.

The state could also create a pool to help people who are waiting for decisions so they don't have to experience "catastrophic financial problems," Landen said.

* Create a consumer advocate. The workers' compensation system is complicated, and Rep. Jerry Iekel, R-Sheridan, proposed the committee help create a consumer advocate to help people navigate the system.

Rep. Jack Landon, R-Sheridan, said one injured worker he talked to didn't have a high school education.

* Adjust benefits for cost-of-living increases. Rep. Timothy Hallinan, R-Gillette, said the division has benefitted from inflation while "the workers have been taxed."

The committee heard from a man who had been receiving the same benefit for 20 years.

* Increase permanent disability benefits and death benefits. Landon said he wanted to see how much it would cost to extend permanent benefits past 80 months.

Several legislators said they wanted to increase the benefits from two-thirds of a worker's wage to three-fourths.

Also, they wanted to extend the death benefit to at least 80 months and cover dependents of the deceased worker better.

* Add more mental health benefits. Landon said the committee needs to look at what diagnoses the division would be expected to cover and how much it would cost to offer this benefit.

Contact health reporter Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or allison.rupp@trib.com.