Who pays workers compensation claims in Ohio?
State Funded Employers? The Ohio BWC
In Ohio, the majority of businesses pay for workers' compensation insurance to the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation. Most likely, your employer is one of these businesses and is considered to be state funded. In those situations, the Ohio BWC will pay for your medical expenses and benefits of your workers compensation injury. Ohio Managed Care Organizations (MCO) assist the Ohio BWC by medically managing your workers' compensation case. The MCO will approve treatment, process paperwork, and process payment for medical providers. The Ohio BWC, however, is the entity actually paying for workers' comp benefits as well as paying the MCO for their administrative functions.
Self-Insured Employers? The Employer
Some very large Ohio businesses may qualify to be self-insured employers. Which means, the business would administer and pay for the workers' compensation claims against them. To qualify, an employer must meet several requirements including:
- Possess two-years' experience with the state insurance fund
- Demonstrate a strong financial stability;
- Possess the ability to administer workers' compensation insurance;
- Maintain an account with a financial institution in Ohio, or draw compensation checks from the same account as the payroll checks.
What can the injured worker do to get the best results from a workers comp injury?
Engaging and hiring an experienced and successful workers comp attorney is extremely important to ensure the injured worker receives the best treatment and benefits available. It is common knowledge but rarely spoken that injured workers without an attorney receive less benefits, less treatment and overall inferior results.
