You can get a 3% discount off your premiums by enrolling in the ISSP (Industry Specific Safety Program) by May 25, 2012. The discount will be applied when you report your premiums online in August 2013.
You must complete an on-line safety assessment and then participate in 1, 2 or 3 safety activities, depending on the size of your payroll, as reported to the BWC 7/1/11-6/30/12. The activities include:
industry specific safety training (on-line or in person classes), and/or
on-site safety assessment, training or program development by the Division of Safety & Hygiene, and/or
attendance at the yearly Safety Congress & Expo (usually in March)
If you already have to take safety training, e.g., you had one or more claims filed in the past 2 years, you can use the same training for both purposes. Just make sure the training is listed for ISSP.
All other discounts in the Destination: Excellence programs are available to you, except group retro, individual retro, large deductible or small deductible programs.
As always, if you pay the minimum $50 premium every 6 months, no discounts apply.
Go to https://www.ohiobwc.com/employer/programs/IndustrySpecificSafety/ISSDescription.aspx for more details.
This one’s easy: Do nothing. Throw out the mailers and ignore the phone calls from other MCOs.
You don’t have to explain your choice or get approval from the salesman for a competing MCO.
One Claim Program: If you are eligible, the BWC should have sent you an application for this program. FAX the application to 614-365-4976 by the close of business on Monday, 4/30/12. Keep proof of your successful fax transmission.
Group Retrospective Rating: Get your application & fee payment to the group TPA by April 24 or 25. The group TPA can organize all the required forms & lists, and will have time to contact applicants with any questions. The TPA has to file the paperwork with the BWC no later than Monday, 4/30/12.
Other programs with April 30 deadlines are the Large Deductible and the Small Deductible programs.
On 7/25/11, I wrote about a company that had let its coverage lapse in 2006. Since then, 22 claims have been filed including one death claim. The business now owes almost $700,000 in premiums, penalties, interest, and claims costs.
The BWC has successfully gotten an injunction to close the business to protect the employees and the other employers in Ohio from having to pay for the claims. This is believed to be the first action of its kind by the BWC.
Now the employees are safer, but unemployed. Will ODJFS pay the unemployment compensation claims even if the business owner hasn’t paid those premiums either?
Here’s a link to the press release on the BWC website if you want to read the details: https://www.ohiobwc.com/home/current/releases/2012/032812refuse.asp
Dual enrollment is when your company is listed as applying for more than one group in any one policy year.
What usually happens is your current group sends you an offer for next year’s group, and when they don’t hear from you, they keep you on their group list. If you sign up with another group, that group lists your company, too. The BWC cannot tell which group you really want.
The TPAs will call and fax and email you to get a statement on letterhead which group you want. THE BWC WILL ELIMINATE YOU FROM ALL GROUPS if you don’t provide a signed statement on letterhead.
In 2012, the statement has to be at the BWC by the last day of March.
Don’t lose out on those group savings by ignoring this!
The BWC will rebate 1% of premiums, up to $1,000 every six months, for employers who sign up for the Go Green program.
Starting with the premiums due August 31, 2012, the BWC will automatically deduct the 1%, up to $1,000, from the total premium amount due when you report your payroll and pay your premiums on line.
Employers in the program will agree to file claims on line, receive their Payroll Report (DP-21) electronically, and pay their premiums on line. It’s OK if the MCO or provider files claims electronically instead of the employer.
The BWC is still working on the registration process for this program.
This program is not open to entities that report $0.00 payroll (like those in PEO relationships and have to keep their coverage active), entities that pay the minimum $50 premium, and entities in the Flex-pay or 50/50 program.
Employers can get an additional 1% rebate/discount if they also qualify for the Lapse Free program.
If your company has paid its premiums on time for 5 years or more, the BWC will rebate 1% of your premiums every six months, up to $1,000.
Starting with the premiums that are due August 31, 2012, when you report your payroll on line, the BWC will calculate your premiums and automatically deduct 1%, up to $1,000. If you pay your premiums with a check, the BWC will calculate the 1% and send you a rebate check.
This program is not available for any entity that pays the minimum $50 to maintain coverage. The BWC is just not going to rebate fifty cents.
Public employers only pay premiums once a year, so their maximum rebate is also up to $2,000 a year.
Employers can get an additional 1% discount if they register for the Go Green program.
I asked my BWC contact how many entities would qualify for this program, but he didn’t know. Of my clients, 30% will qualify for this program, and 35% have not yet been in business for 5 years. It would be interesting to know if those percentages are true for the entire population in Ohio. Are 35% of the premium-paying private employers in Ohio less than five years old?
The deadline to report payroll for the second six months of 2011 is Wednesday, February 29, 2012. You also must pay all or half of the premiums due before the close of business that day. Otherwise, your coverage may lapse.
If your coverage lapses, see the posts on June 22, 2011 and March 24, 2011 for the consequences of non-payment.
The easiest way to pay premiums is online at www.ohiobwc.com. On the home page, click on the Quick link to Pay Premium and follow the instructions. You can use one or more credit cards, or ACH transfer.
You must report all payroll for the second half of 2011, but you can pay 50% of the premium now, and the balance on or before May 31, 2012.
Once you pay online, the BWC will only send a postcard reminder when the next premiums are due. It will not send a paper Payroll Report (DP-21) form. You will have to go to the website to see your premium rates and calculate your premiums.
You can mail a check to the BWC in Columbus, but the payment must be RECEIVED by the BWC before the close of business on February 29, 2012. There is no grace period, and no mailbox rule for the BWC.
The last business day in April is the deadline for TPAs to provide their rosters of companies to the BWC. This year, 2012, it is April 30.
Earlier deadlines are to create urgency and are part of the marketing strategy of the group TPAs. Believe me, if you waited to sign up for group retro in March or early April, you could.
To pay your premiums online and take full advantage of the information on the BWC website, you must create an e-account. You will need to create an ID and a password. There will not be any secret questions.
Normally, when I give instructions for navigating the BWC website, I walk through the steps as I write them. But I already have an e-account and don’t want to create another, so I trust you to follow the prompts. As I recall, however, the BWC did not tell me the protocol for my ID and password until after the first one was rejected, so be prepared to make changes.
Write down the ID and password and make sure someone else at your company can find them, in case you are unavailable in the future. Paying premiums late is not in your company’s best interest!
FRAUD ALERT: E-account access enables you to change the contact information, including phone numbers, email and mailing addresses, and will provide access to the medical records in the claims filed against your company. Be sure that only responsible and trustworthy persons have access to them.