If your company has not requested a no-cost, no-obligation quote for the 2012-2013 group plan year, please contact CareWorks Consultants today toll-free, at 1-800-837-3200 or apply online at www.careworksconsultants.com/groupratingapplication.

Because group rating has a limited window for enrollment, it is important to apply immediately for the 2012-2013 plan year. The deadline to request a quote is February 23, 2012, so complete and return your application to CareWorks Consultants as soon as possible.

Please contact CareWorks Consultants at 1-800-837-3200 to discuss your potential savings. Choose a partner with a record of not only savings, but incredible service!

The first of these changes was announced when the BWC Board of Directors eliminated the Break Even Factor which was an assessment used in calculating rates for employers in traditional group rating programs.  BWC also adjusted their credibility table to reflect a 53% maximum discount.  Taken together, the significance of these changes is that the maximum allowable discount through traditional group experience rating has increased to 53% for the 2012 policy year from its prior 51% ceiling. 

BWC completed its changes in December by approving a plan branded Destination Excellence.  Under Destination Excellence, changes were made to various existing programs, while new initiatives were created to encourage loss control and employer behavior.

• Eliminated the requirement for an employer to be penalty-rated in order to qualify.  Under the new rules, any employer whose individual experience modifier increases more than two-fold – even those who remain base- or credit-rated – would be able to use this program to limit the increase in premium.  This change should increase the number of employers eligible to benefit from the program.
• Eliminated the requirement to implement the 10-Step Business Plan for Safety and replaced it with a requirement to complete an industry-specific half-day training during the first year of participation and online training classes in subsequent years.  These changes will make the program less burdensome and more business friendly.

Small Deductible Program – Deductible Levels of $500 – $10,000 (effective 7/1/2012)

• Payments made under the small deductible program are excluded from employers’ experience and therefore do not impact rate calculations.  As a result employers will theoretically have lower claims values and reduced rates and premium.

One Claim Program – (effective 7/1/2012)

• Reduces the discount to 20% in the first year, 15% in the second year, 10% in the third and 5% in the fourth year of participation.  The current discount through the One Claim Program is 40% for all four years.

Ten-Step Business Plan for Safety (effective 7/1/2012)

• Replaces requirements to implement the 10-Step Business Plan with more tailored safety programs to fit employers’ industry, accident history and size.  Many employers have asked for more industry specific safety programming for a number of years.

Establishes a 3% discount for employers who agree to complete a safety risk assessment and provide employer-specific safety data to BWC upon request.  Depending on size, employers will be required to complete one, two or all of the following activities:

• Industry-specific safety classes offered by the Division of Safety & Hygiene;
• On-site safety consulting with BWC staff; and/or
• Attend BWC Safety Congress. 

Transitional Work Grant Program & Bonus (effective 7/1/2012)
Provides a grant for employers to establish a transitional work plan and a bonus for employers who use the plan to return an injured employee to work.

• Go Green Discount
  Designed to reward employers for paying premiums online and on time, the “Go Green” discount provides a 1% premium discount (up to a maximum of $1,000 every six months) to employers who elect to receive their payroll report, report payroll and pay their premiums through ohiobwc.com.  Participants must also make first reports of injury online (if they are the party filing the claim).  The “Go Green” discount is not available to employers using the FlexPay Program, the 50/50 program or report no payroll.
• Lapse Free Discount
  Employers who have not lapsed for the preceding 60 months (5 years) will receive a “Lapse-Free” discount of 1% (up to a maximum of $1,000 every six months).  This discount will not be available to employers reporting no payroll.

Claim-Free Discount (effective 7/1/2013)
The “Claim-Free” discount will be applied to employers who have not incurred a compensable injury for one calendar year AND maintains a safety committee. 

Program Compatibility (effective 7/1/2012) 

• Drug-Free Safety Program is now compatible with group rating and the 15K Program.
• The 2% Safety Council participation discount is available to employers in the Group Retrospective Rating Program.
• One Claim Program and 100% EM Cap are NOT compatible with Small Deductible.
• Small deductible program is not compatible with Group Rating.
• Salary continuation is compatible with all programs.

Taken together as a package, an employer could effectively reduce their workers’ compensation rates by 59%.  For example, an employer with individual premium of $1,000 in a maximum 53% discount group rating program would see their premium reduced to $470.  The Go Green and Lapse Free administrative discounts would reduce their premium even further to $461.  If this same employer participated in their local Safety Council, the Advanced level of the Drug Free Safety Program and implemented industry-specific safety strategies, they could see their premium reduced to $407.  

For more information on how you can take advantage of these new programs, please call your CareWorks Consultants’ Program Manager toll-free, at (800) 837-3200.

BWC introduced a new employer option called the Destination: Excellence Program.  This new risk management program is scheduled to become available July 1, 2012 and is intended to provide additional financial rebates and premium discounts to companies for successfully meeting claim management and safety related goals.  More details regarding this program will be communicated as they become available.

BWC Administrator Buehrer indicated that one of the agency’s goals is to increase return to work for injured workers.  The Administrator stated this will be achieved by identifying process changes within BWC and working with industry partners such as TPAs, MCOs and medical providers.  CareWorks Consultants encourages this approach and will continue to manage claims with the objective of returning injured workers to work as soon as medically possible.

For more information or questions about these recent changes, please contact CareWorks Consultants, toll-free, at 1-800-837-3200.

Currently, CareWorks Consultants projects that the total 3 year OH&LA program refund will exceed $633,150 which is over 55% of the group’s standard premium.  This first 12 month refund of $455,654.50 represents 72% of the projected 3 year refund.  We are projecting an additional 19% or $120,400 refund a year from now and the projected third and final 9% refund of $57,100 is expected to be processed in August 2013.

The employers participating in the 2010 Group Retrospective Rating Program have just completed their first year.  Our current premium refund projections for these customers are as follows:

CareWorks Consultants is inviting employers to be evaluated for the upcoming July 1, 2012 Group Retrospective Rating Policy Year.  We believe that the information above reflects the quality financial results your company can achieve by participating in one of our Group Retro Programs.  For some employers, participation in group retrospective rating is more beneficial than participation in traditional group rating.

For more information on CareWorks Consultants’ Group Retrospective Rating Programs, please contact us, toll-free, at 1-800-837-3200.

This program will allow new Ohio employers to join a group rating program and immediately receive the maximum workers’ compensation premium discount (currently 51%) throughout the year.  Currently, new employers must wait until July of the coming year to enroll in this valuable program, and as a result they must pay higher premiums for their workers’ compensation coverage.

Should a new employer choose not to enroll into group rating, a 25% discount is applied to the new employer’s premium rate.

If the originally presented concept passes without changes, the incentive discount will apply to new employers (who meet the criteria) retroactively to July 1, 2011.

CareWorks Consultants will work to ensure that the program is successfully implemented for as many new Ohio businesses as possible.  If you are a new business not currently participating in a group rating program, we encourage you to contact CareWorks Consultants at 800-837-3200 to learn more about the program.

CareWorks Consultants will continue to keep you advised as new programs like the Grow Ohio Incentive Program are introduced by BWC and to help you continue to reduce and control your workers’ compensation costs.

Some new classification codes have been added, other codes have been reclassified to another code and many classifications have changes in the wording, describing the operations. Below is a list of some of the changes.

New Manual Classification Codes

• 2797 – Manufactured, modular or pre-fabricated home manufacturing – shop work – all operations and drivers.
• 2799 – Manufactured, modular or pre-fabricated home setup, hook up, or installation at building site.
• 4109 – Integrated Circuit manufacturing. – Replaces 4150 – Optical Goods manufacturing.
• 4110 – Electric Bulb manufacturing. – Replaces 4112 – Incandescent lamp manufacturing.
• 4149 – Optical goods manufacturing. NOC – Replaces 4150 – Optical goods manufacturing.
• 6503 – Potato chip, popcorn and snack chip manufacturing. Previously reported under 6504 – Food sundries manufacturing.
• 8037 – Store – Superstore and warehouse clubs.

Reclassification of Codes

• Combine Manual 2001 – Cracker manufacturing into revised Manual 2003 – bakery – salespersons and drivers.
• Combine Manual 2812 – Cabinet works- with power machinery into revised Manual 2883 – Furniture manufacturing and cabinet shop – wood- NOC includes assembling and finishing.
• Combine Manual 4362 – Motion picture: film exchange and projections rooms, clerical to the revised Manual 4360 Motion picture- development of negative, printing and all subsequent operations.
• Combine Manual 4561 – Varnish manufacturing into the revised Manual 4439 – lacquer or spirit varnish
• Combine Manual 5651 Carpentry- dwelling – three stories or less into revised Manual 5645 – carpentry – detached one or two family dwellings.
• Combine Manuals 7601, 7611, 7612 and 7613 – Telephone, cable TV contractors or construction- into revised Manual 7600 – Telecommunications company – cable TV or satellite – all other employees and drivers.

These changes will first appear on your July 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011 payroll report, that employers will receive in late December 2011.

If you have any questions regarding manual classifications, please contact CareWorks Consultants’ Tammy Bowersmith at 800-837-3200, ext. 7247.

The incentive program, which was due to expire soon, allows participating employers to receive a 2 percent rebate for attending a specific number of safety council programs, and an additional 2 percent for demonstrating a reduction in the frequency and/or severity of workplace incidents. Under Buehrer’s proposal, the program will not only continue, but also will be expanded to allow group-rated employers to participate in safety councils and earn a 2 percent performance rebate for demonstrating improvements in workplace safety. This would be in addition to receiving their group rating discount.

“We know that those employers who are most active in taking control of their safety programs are the most successful in preventing claims and managing workers’ compensation costs,” Buehrer told 1,400 employers and workplace safety professionals attending yesterday’s general session of BWC’s 81st Annual Safety Congress & Expo. “I believe good safety programming ought to be good for all employers across the state.”

Buehrer noted the savings potential is significant, providing an additional opportunity to reduce overall premium costs for nearly 100,000 Ohio employers allowing them to direct those resources into business growth and job creation. He also stated that he will soon present the proposal to the BWC Board of Directors for their advice and consent.

BWC’s Division of Safety & Hygiene sponsors more than 80 safety councils across the state that are organized by local safety-minded groups to inform participants of new safety techniques, products and services, and provide a thorough knowledge of topics, including occupational safety and health, workers’ compensation and risk management education.

BWC is a non general-revenue fund state agency that provides workers’ compensation insurance for 230,000 Ohio employers and covers approximately two-thirds of Ohio’s workforce. With approximately $2.1 billion in annual premium and assessment income, BWC is the largest state-fund system in the United States and one of the top 10 underwriters of workers’ compensation insurance in the nation.

Visit ohiobwc.com for more information about the Safety Council Program. You can also see a list of all safety councils.

For more information on the changes to BWC’s Safety Council Program, please call CareWorks Consultants toll-free at, 1-800-837-3200.

Many employers maintain OSHA 300 logs to comply with federal recordkeeping requirements, but effective recordkeeping goes beyond OSHA 300 log compliance. Additional documentation about each accident (including near misses) that occurs in your workplace can be an invaluable tool to identify safety and health process issues, manage the workers’ compensation claims process, and establish the link between investments in accident prevention and profitability. Furthermore, recordkeeping can provide key information necessary to spot injury trends within your business and prioritize corrective actions necessary to control workers’ compensation expenses.

All accidents, incidents and near misses should be investigated to help determine a cause. Once a root cause is established, corrective actions can be implemented when possible and verified over a period of time to ensure strategies are working.

As you gather data about your company’s injuries over a period of time, examine the information to see if there are any trends in the following areas:

• Are most of your injuries occurring on a particular day (i.e. Mondays and/or Fridays) or time? Do you seem to have problems with one particular shift?
• Is there a particular department or area where injuries seem to be occurring at a higher rate?
• Is there any commonality with injury type (e.g. burns, cuts, back strains, etc.) or affected body parts?
• Do you notice any trends with how injuries are caused (e.g. slips & falls, liquid splashed in face, hands in equipment, etc.).
• Do specific pieces of machinery or equipment seem to be contributing to an overabundance of injuries?
• Are weather conditions a common factor?

Records of workers’ compensation claims costs should also be maintained to complement injury and illness data. Considered in tandem, this information can be used to help justify the purchase of new or replacement safety equipment. Keeping up with the costs of injuries in the workplace can help focus training efforts, inspections, resources and safety emphasis programs on the areas where they are most needed. Examples of specific costs associated with workplace injuries include direct medical costs, increased workers’ compensation premiums resulting from disability payments and claim reserves, attorney fees, settlement costs, as well as decreased productivity and increased employee turnover.

As part of a comprehensive safety and health program, comprehensive recordkeeping and data analysis is an enlightening process to keep your employees safe, reduce workers’ compensation costs and increase your company’s bottom line.

For more information about maximizing the impact of your company’s recordkeeping, please call Shawn Combs, Group Safety Account Executive at (877) 360-3608, ext. 2364.