Ohio Rolls Out Plan Aimed at Increasing Return to Work Rates

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) introduced a new rating plan that encourages employers to maintain safe workplaces and to work with injured workers to speed their return to work.

“Destination: Excellence” aims to improve return-to-work rates by offering employers more choice in building a risk management plan that focuses on safety, prevention and returning those who are injured to their jobs more quickly.

The “cafeteria plan” allows employers to select among seven new and existing program options to customize a plan that addresses their specific needs.

The programs address workplace safety, and stress transitional work and vocational rehabilitation programs while providing opportunities to reduce premiums through adoption of best practices and meeting certain performance requirements.

Over the past four years, the number of injured workers getting back to work within a year in Ohio has fallen from 75 percent to below 69 percent, the BWC said. Medical and indemnity costs are rising faster than the national average.

The cost of BWC’s long term claims is the worst in the nation. Eight years from the date of injury, BWC still has more than 45 percent of total claim costs left to pay out, compared to the nationwide average of 17 percent.