Ohio Workers’ Comp Bureau Adds Options to Deductible Program

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) is expanding a deductible program put in place last year. The large deductible program will offer deductible levels between $25,000 and $200,000 and is intended to give large employers more options to mold a workers’ compensation plan that will best suit their business needs.

With the large deductible program, an employer agrees to pay the portion of a claim that falls below the selected deductible level. For taking on this degree of risk, the employer receives a premium discount, the BWC says.

Last year, BWC implemented its first-ever deductible program offering five deductible levels from $500 up to $10,000 per claim. For the program year beginning July 1, 2009, 580 employers registered for the smaller plan.

With the large deductible program, qualified employers can now choose from deductible levels of $25,000, $50,000, $100,000, or $200,000, and a “stop loss” option limits the employers’ exposure at three times the per claim limit chosen. The large deductible program will be available to employers beginning July 1, 2010, with registration for either program taking place from March 1 through April 30.

The BWC also adopted a new hospital outpatient fee schedule that covers services delivered during emergency department visits that may be the first treatment following an injury; as well as surgery or rehabilitation services intended to get an injured worker back to work. Hospital outpatient bills represent approximately seven percent of the bills BWC processes annually; and about 17 percent of BWC’s overall medical expenses.

Source: Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation

Topics Workers' Compensation Ohio