Ohio Comp Agency Changing Claims Management's Focus
The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation has scheduled an April 29 public forum in Columbus to discuss how it plans to shift BWC's claims management system from a model focused on disability management to one focused on disability prevention. The event will take place from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the William Green Building auditorium at 30 W. Spring St.
Goals for discussion include:
- Determining efficient methods for identifying workers at risk for long-term disability
- Identifying appropriate incentives for the delivery of occupational health best practice care sufficient to prevent disability
- Identifying opportunities for the synthesis of claims-management and medical-management processes to improve outcomes
- Providing for measurement of the disability prevention achieved to allow for a continuous improvement process
Anyone interested in addressing the board should register at ohiobwc.com by Thursday, April 23 or register on site the day of the forum.
Separately, the bureau yesterday released details of a yearlong study by Deloitte Consulting LLC of the Ohio comp system. The Ohio General Assembly ordered the study to be done to benchmark the system's performance against those of other state and private systems. "For more than a year, we have worked closely with Deloitte as they have gathered information for this independent, top-to-bottom assessment of BWC," said BWC Administrator Marsha Ryan. "This process has afforded us a much-needed opportunity to closely examine the services we provide to injured workers and the insurance products we offer to 270,000 Ohio employers. Deloitte's recommendations are already providing us with outstanding guidance for resolving challenging issues. The study will serve as a guide for fundamental long term improvements to Ohio's workers' compensation system."
The next steps will be an internal review team's analysis of the recommendations and a schedule for implementing changes.