Governor Kasich and BWC Administrator Buehrer Announce Proposal for $1B Rebate for Employers

Reiterating his administration's singular focus on creating jobs and improving Ohio's economy, Governor John R. Kasich joined Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Administrator/CEO Steve Buehrer to announce a proposal to provide a $1 billion rebate to 210,000 Ohio private sector employers and public employer taxing districts. The plan also triples investments in worker safety grants and lowers all rates by modernizing workers' compensation operations.

“Returning these funds to public and private employers, strengthening worker safety efforts and modernizing operations are the kinds of reforms that help create jobs and they’re the kinds of reforms that my Administration will keep pursuing,” Kasich said.

The three-part plan includes:

• A request that the BWC board of directors authorize a one-time dividend of $1 billion for private employers and public-taxing districts. If approved, the rebates would be approximately 56 percent of what employers were billed during the last policy period.
• An expansion of the agency's successful Safety Grant Program from $5 million to $15 million to support expanded statewide efforts to promote workplace safety and to encourage further investment in protecting Ohio's workers.
• Requesting the Legislature modernize the premium collection model by authorizing BWC to move toward a prospective-payment system and subsequently requesting the board issue an additional $900 million to mitigate transition costs. This switch would also result in rate reductions of 2 percent for private employers and 4 percent for public employers.

Administrator Buehrer plans to present the rebate and safety components of his recommendations to the BWC board of directors later this month, and has already begun pursuing legislative approval for the billing changes. If approved, rebate checks could be mailed as early as June or July.

“In addition to injecting a billion dollars into Ohio’s economy, this proposal places a strong emphasis on protecting Ohio’s workers,” Buehrer said. “Making investments in safety creates safer workplaces, prevents costly accidents and ultimately results in lower premiums for employers.”

View this fact sheet for all the details about this announcement.

BWC recommendation would bring three-year savings for private employers to $224 million.

Also in May, the BWC board of directors will consider a proposal to lower average base rates for private employers by 2.1 percent starting in July. The recommendation would reduce private employer premiums by $29 million for the July 1, 2014, policy year, and bring their three-year savings to $224 million.

“Conservative management and strong investments, coupled with favorable claim frequency, claim severity and payroll trends are allowing us to achieve our goal of setting the lowest possible rates while still maintaining the solvency of the fund,” Buehrer said. “I’m pleased that over the past three years we’ve been able to provide both quality care and service to Ohio’s injured workers and stable, reasonable rates for Ohio’s employers.”

The board is expected to vote on both measures during its May 30 meeting.

Learn more at ohiobwc.com.

Check out the safety resources library.

Hundreds of safety and health videos, thousands of books and an array of online tools and resources are available to employers as well as the general public through the Division of Safety & Hygiene library. New materials are acquired regularly.

These free resources cover occupational safety and health, rehabilitation and workers’ compensation issues. Click here for more details.

Also, check out a new resource for the safety-minded! The BWC library posts a monthly Safety Update to keep you informed about the safety and industrial hygiene industry. Articles are collected from a variety of resources the library receives and contain the latest from OSHA, NIOSH and also links to newsletters, journals and magazines that cover safety issues. Check them out at the beginning of each month at ohiobwc.com.