Reduce Your Workers’ Comp Costs Using Our New Free Guide
Each new year brings with it a host of changes and new challenges, but it also offers an opportunity to reflect on ways your district can make improvements. With workers’ compensation costs steadily increasing in recent years, now is the time to explore ways to help take control of these costs.
Navigating the ins and outs of successfully managing your district’s workers’ compensation program can seem like a daunting task. That’s why the Pool gives its members access to the 2016 Ultimate Guide to Mastering Workers’ Comp Costs.
This guide is packed full of useful information. Below is a brief outline of the topics covered in the guide. Once you’re ready to commit to the process, you can request your copy of the guide on our website.
Chapter 1: Workers’ Compensation Insurance Basics
Workers’ compensation is required in most states. Injured employees are provided with medical and wage loss benefits without proving the employer is at fault and giving up the right to sue the employer.
Chapter 2: Fundamentals of Cost Containment
Many organizations have claims that last too long or become litigious. They fail to take charge of the process. This can make their workers’ compensation costs rise.
Chapter 3: Training and Building Commitment
Before implementing a workers’ compensation management program, all employees must be made aware of changes. Senior management and supervisors must be trained in using new forms and procedures.
Chapter 4: Injury Management Best Practices Roles and Responsibilities
There are specific best practice standards the primary injury management team can implement to meet and surpass national standards.
Chapter 5: Reporting the Claim
Workers’ compensation injury claims must be reported immediately after an injury, since timely claim reporting procedures ensure:
- Workers receive immediate, appropriate care
- Key personnel are involved sooner rather than later
- Benefits are initiated and paid quickly
- Workers return to work sooner
- The claim is investigated while details are fresh in everyone’s mind, especially witnesses
Chapter 6: Post-Injury Response Procedure
Post-injury response procedures are a set of guidelines detailing what the role of management is in the first few days following a work-related injury. The procedures map the steps the employee, supervisor, and witnesses must take immediately following the event.
Chapter 7: Communication with Employees
Strong communication is the key to successful workers’ compensation management. To reduce costs relative to any injury, it is important to maintain both proactive and reactive communication that appropriately manages the situation and trains your employees.
Chapter 8: Working with Your Adjusters or TPA
Employers need to know about any services provided by their insurer and/or third party administrator (TPA). If employers are not satisfied with the performance of the adjusters, they need to know how to address the problem.
Chapter 9: Safety and Loss Control
An effective safety program serves many purposes; one of which is to provide the ability to assess workplace hazards and comply with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. Safety is a process that requires management support.
Chapter 10: Wellness Programs
Everyone benefits when employers take an interest in their employees’ health and help by eliminating unhealthy lifestyles. The Pool will reimburse up to 50% of the cost for instituting wellness programs through our Safety and Loss Prevention Grant Program.
Chapter 11: Return to Work and Transitional Duty
When any employee is injured, the employer should have two goals. First, return the employee to pre-injury health as soon as possible. Second, get them back to work as soon as they are medically able. This reduces the cost of lost-wage indemnity which can be more than 40% of the cost of a claim. A good way to go about this is by using transitional duty jobs which increase in capability each week.
Chapter 12: Indemnity Cost-Containment Methods
Sometimes getting an employee back to work requires a more hands-on approach. This is especially true of employees who don’t fit into the type of duties that others could perform for a transitional role.
Chapter 13: Directing Medical Care
Employers cannot direct medical care but they can keep in contact with the injured worker and medical providers. Gaining the cooperation of the medical provider can help convey how much the employer is genuinely interested in the employee’s wellbeing.
Chapter 14: Medical Cost Containment
Medical costs can be controlled using a variety of strategies. Claims administration teams offer various services to reduce costs.
Chapter 15: Fighting Fraud and Abuse
The vast majority of workers’ comp claims are legitimate and companies are committed to paying claims quickly. However, they have a duty to ensure that fraud does not pollute the system and to communicate suspicions to the claims adjuster.
Chapter 16: Rehabilitating the Injured Employee
Three disciplines – physical rehabilitation, physical therapy, and occupational therapy – are individualized services used to reduce the degree of an injured employee’s disability and to facilitate a more rapid return to work. The optimum result is a model that delivers high quality medical treatment, superior treatment outcomes, and premium customer and patient service.
Chapter 17: Managing Prescription Drug Abuse
Drug costs are not only the fastest growing component of medical care, but are also one of the most neglected areas of workers’ compensation cost control. Proper utilization of pharmacy benefits management can result in substantial savings. Employers or their TPA can take direct steps to prevent misuse of medication. They can also contract with a Pharmacy Benefits Management (PBM) vendor. Most TPAs and insurance companies are aligned with a PBM program.
Chapter 18: Claims Resolution and Settlements
Resolving and settling workers’ compensation claims is a complex process requiring adjusters, medical providers, attorneys, and workers’ compensation coordinators to have an in-depth knowledge of multiple areas of the law, including workers’ compensation, product liability, and general liability legal issues.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. To request your copy of Your Ultimate Guide to Mastering Workers’ Compensation Costs today, submit the request form on our website at https://csdpool.org/publications/orderform.
