New Year, new approach to RTW

Hopefully you found the holidays to be enjoyable, now it’s back to work!  If you’re one of the many resolution-ers out there, you may want to read this before going public with your resolution.  According to a study cited in a Forbes.com article, about 40% of Americans make resolutions and only 8% of them keep them. 

Resolve to improve your company’s workers’ compensation program.  Why? Because unlike a short stint at the gym or week or two on the South Beach Diet, improving your workers’ compensation program doesn’t require any special diets or new clothing.  Nope, you simply need some groundwork and a good team of people to support you.

The process of setting your goals has a direct impact on the likelihood of successfully attaining them.  Some simple considerations can go a long way.  Goals should be simple, attainable and measurable.

Simple

Stick to one or two goals for your RTW program.  A simple starting point for employers without a RTW program could be to identify 10 modified duty tasks for each department in your organization.  Creating a modified duty job bank is an essential step in achieving successful RTW outcomes.  Review your loss history to decide where to start if it seems overwhelming.  Try not to reinvent the wheel – use existing job descriptions for ideas. 

Attainable

Sure, every organization would like to eliminate all injuries or all lost time days, but that might not be very realistic.  You can’t prevent everything, so make sure you have a plan to deal with an accident when it occurs.  Review your past loss histories to identify trends and to set reasonable goals.  You can also look to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for comparison data.  Periodically re-assess the goals to determine where you are and if they need to be adjusted.

Measurable

As the old adage goes, you manage what you measure.  Once you’ve determined your simple, attainable goal, you must be able to measure it.  Some examples include:  reducing lost time days by 20%, reducing the number of lost time claims by 80%, getting every injured worker who has restrictions back to work within 7 days of their release to return to work.  If part of your goal focuses on providing training for supervisory and management staff on the importance and benefits of modified duty, consider setting a goal to require each staff member to attend training.  You could go the extra step and require them to score a 95% or higher on a post-training quiz.

Other considerations

Announce your goal to the organization.  Divulge your plans and then demonstrate the progress you make toward those goals.   Make it extremely clear how each employee contributes to this goal as well as how your workers’ compensation premiums impact the financial results of the company.  If your company has quarterly meetings, add this to the agenda.  Regularly post your progress in a visible area such as your mandatory postings board or break room.  If you don’t reach your goal, determine an objective reason why.  Use this information to realign your goals for the following year. 

We’re here to help you successfully implement a return to wellness program.  Check out our resources on www.eains.com/ecovery or contact us directly.

Best of luck in whatever resolution you take on this year, and if you’re one of the nearly 60% of Americans who don’t make New Year’s resolutions, we still wish you all the best for 2014.

Meet JAN, your new best friend

Who is JAN?

The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is the leading source of free, expert, and confidential guidance on workplace accommodations and disability employment issues.  Working toward practical solutions that benefit both employer and employee, JAN helps people with disabilities enhance their employability, and shows employers how to capitalize on the value and talent that people with disabilities add to the workplace.

JAN’s Workplace Accommodations:  Low Cost, High Impact  reports  the results of a recent survey of 723 employers who utilized JAN’s services.  We’ve provided some of the most relevant findings below.

An astounding 57% of accommodations didn’t cost anything.  Zilch.  They were free.  The average cost of a one-time expenditure was $500 for employers.   Do the accommodations work?  76% of employers reported they found the accommodations to be “very effective” or “extremely effective.”

What benefits have employers utilizing JAN received?

Direct Benefits
 

39% reported a savings on workers’ compensation or other insurance costs

90% reported the retention of a valued employee

71% reported increased the employee’s productivity

60% reported the elimination of costs associated with training a new employee.

Indirect Benefits

66% of employers reported improved interactions with coworkers

61% cited an increased overall company morale level

45% reported increased workplace safety

57% reported increased overall company productivity

99% of employers stated they would use JAN again.

There’s a Searchable Online Accommodation Resource (SOAR) database which provides information, suggestions, examples and resources for employers interested in implementing a job accommodation.  These suggestions are sorted by impairment or by industry.

 

References:

Job Accommodation Network (Original 2005, Updated 2007, Updated 2009, Updated 2010, Updated 2011, Updated 2012). Workplace accommodations: Low cost, high impact. Retrieved August 12, 2013, from http://AskJAN.org/media/lowcosthighimpact.html

 

Have an injured worker out of work? The meter is running.

If you're an employer with an injured worker who is currently out of work, the temporary total disability (TTD) meter is running!  Whether it's staring at the meter at the gas pump, silently praying that it will soon stop, or imagining dollars going out the door everytime the air conditioning kicks on and you see your electric meter hypnotically spinning in circles...cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching, most of us have at least felt the pain at the pump or cringed when reviewing your summer-time electric bills.

We can blame the meteorologists and global warming, or grumble about the price of oil, but it's unlikely that we're going to stop using gasoline or electricity.  The same goes for workers' compensation (WC) insurance.  It's a requirement for the overwhelming majority of employers, and while there's little you can (legally) do to avoid having WC coverage, there are many ways to avoid overpaying.  Don't worry, you won't have to start biking to work or start adopting the ways of the Amish life.

One of the most influential ways to reduce workers' compensation claim costs (and resulting impact on premium calculations) is to offer modified duty.  If you have an injured worker who has restrictions that you [think] you cannot accommodate, the TTD meter is running.  As a claim representative I was often outraged at the number of employers who didn't seem to be alarmed by this statement:  "Each week that you do not offer modified duty, your policy is paying out $422 per week!  Over the course of 12 weeks, that is $5,064!"  It's not Monopoly™ money, it's real claims dollars.  Dollars paid to an injured worker, who is capable of performing productive work. 

Out of sight, out of mind? 

Struggling with WC costs? -- Focus on what you CAN control!

It's easy to focus on what you can't control.  Sometimes we do this to avoid accepting responsibility for our own situations or simply because we've never stepped back and taken an objective look at the situation.

As an employer there are many things that we can't control -- the weather, the laws the govern how you must conduct business, as well as the restrictions that a physician places on an injured worker as a result of a work related injury. 

So, let's take a look at what we can do to influence the outcome of a workers' compensation claim.

Offer modified duty
As written in our last post -- there's no condition so disabling that there's not someone in the US with that condition working full time today.  If you say that you don't have modified duty, you're likely not going to look for it.  Keep an open mind and use the resources available to help you identify modified duty options.

Modified duty wages
The rate at which you pay an injured worker for modified duty impacts the amount of any temporary partial disability benefits (TPD) the injured worker may be entitled to.  Obviously, the more they are paid for modified duty, the less they receive under their workers' compensation claim.  In most states, the TPD rates are 66 2/3 of the difference between the injured worker's pre-injury wages and their modified duty wages.

Safety and Injury Prevention
While injuries may occur that are out of your control, there is much that you can do to prevent injuries from occurring, and to reduce the severity of the injuries if they do occur.  Providing a safe work environment is one element of injury prevention, enforcing safety rules, providing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), and appropriate training for new hires are just a few suggestions.  Injuries can still occur if we're being safe drivers, but if the employee is wearing their seatbelt at the time of injury, this safety measure can greatly reduce the severity of the injury.  Also, having employees properly trained to administer first aid can help minor injuries from developing into something worse.

Organizational Culture that Supports Safety and RTW
While this may be the most challenging aspect of safety and RTW, creating buy-in at all levels of the organization is paramount in influencing your workers' compensation program before an injury even happens.  If employees know that they will be offered modified duty, they may be less likely to file a false injury claim.  It also communicates that employers care about the wellbeing of their most valuable assets -- their employees.

Appropriate Medical Treatment
Providing prompt and appropriate medical treatment can have a significant impact on the injured worker's recovery.  If your state allows direction of medical care, having a physician panel that complies with state regulations is an important step towards helping the injured worker recover and RTW.

Maintain Contact with the Injured Worker
Too often an employer files a claim and assumes that they should let the insurance carrier maintain all contact with the injured worker -- this is incorrect (unless of course the employee retains an attorney who prohibits contact with the injured worker).  One of the best ways to keep an injured worker focused on returning to wellness is to stay in contact with them.  Send a get well card, give them a call once a week or every other week to check in, invite them in for employee meetings, and keep them in the loop so that they feel connected with the workplace.

This turned into a lengthy post, but the length (and content) hopefully communicate just how much an employer can influence the outcome of their WC claims.

RTW and Seasonal Workers: Bring them back or risk paying them all year long

It's that time of the year again...your neighbor is fertilizing and seeding their lawn to ensure that their lawn invokes feelings of grass envy throughout your neighborhood, you're waking up to the sound of birds chirping in the trees as opposed to snow plows scraping the streets, isn't Spring a wonderful time of the year?

Soon we will start to see the landscaping trucks on the streets at the crack of dawn and workers spreading shovelfuls of recycled and dyed pieces of wooden pallets, known to the consumer as mulch.  What did you think I was going to say?  College students will be returning home to look for summertime employment, hoping to secure that sought-after summertime gig that pays more than minimum wage in an attempt to offset the rising prices of bee---I mean...books.  Everywhere you look, people are starting their spring projects, building patios, planting gardens and getting those home repairs they've put off until warmer weather.

But, if you're a seasonal employer you're probably not thinking of gladiolas and grilling, you're thinking about starting up business again and getting back to work! 

Why worry about WC at a time like this?  There are several reasons.

The Mod Squad: RTW and Experience Modification Factors

We sat down with Karinda Greo, Eastern's Operations Analyst to discuss the intricacies of experience modification factors (herein known as EMF) to determine what impact RTW can have on an employer's EMF. 

If you're an Eastern client or agency partner who is interested in learning more about how you can control your EMF, register for our webinar, Experience Mod 101, that is set to take place on 3/27 @ 10 am!

Now, back to the interview...

What does the employer’s EMF represent?

The employer’s experience modification factor predicts, based on past experience, whether the employer is likely to develop loss experience that is better or worse than average. A period of 3 years of experience is considered, excluding the most recent policy term. For that time period, the employer’s claim data is compared to the average claim data for employers of similar operations and size. If the employer’s claim experience is worse than average, an EMF of greater than 1.0 is generated and acts as a surcharge to the workers compensation premium. If the employer’s claim experience is better than average, an EMF of less than 1.0 is applied to the premium and provides a discount. Keep in mind that since 3 years of experience is considered, each claim impacts the employer’s EMF for three consecutive years.

What impacts an employer’s EMF more: frequency or severity? 

In NCCI states, frequency definitely impacts an employer’s experience modification factor more than severity. The NCCI calculation uses a split point where all claim dollars below the split point are considered primary (frequency driven) and all claim dollars above the split point are considered excess (severity driven). The excess claim dollars are heavily discounted in the final calculation. Currently, the split point is transitioning from $5,000 to $15,000 over a 3 year period. Most states are around $10,000 today. Consider Employer A with one $40,000 claim; and Employer B with 4 claims at $10,000 each, totaling $40,000. Each has the same amount of total losses, but Employer A would have a lower EMF because the first $10,000 would be included at full weight, and the remaining $30,000 would be discounted as excess. Employer B would have a higher EMF because each claim would be counted as primary, resulting in $40,000 included at full weight in the calculation.

In PA and DE, the impact between frequency and severity is more even. Both states apply a cap instead of a split point. All claim dollars in excess of the cap are excluded entirely from the EMF calculation. The current cap for PA is $42,500, so the impact of highly severe claims is reduced. For example, if an employer has a $50,000 claim, only the first $42,500 is included in the EMF calculation. The remaining $7,500 is excluded. In the case of Employer A and Employer B described above, however, there would be no difference in the EMF as the full $40,000 would be included in the EMF calculation in both cases. The cap value for DE ranges from $31,000 to $470,000 and depends on the classification and size of the employer. The largest employers with the highest rated classifications will have the highest cap values.

How does the impact of lost time claims differ from medical only claims in the calculation of an employer's EMF?

In NCCI states, lost time claims have a much greater impact on the EMF than medical only claims. In fact, medical only claims are reduced by 70% in the NCCI calculation. For example, a $10,000 medical only claim counts as $3,000 in the EMF calculation. Lost time claims do not get discounted.

Vocational Rehabilitation, RTW and WC: What every employer should know

What is vocational rehabilitation (VR)?

According to IRMI:

"One aspect of the overall rehabilitation process that focuses on restoring an injured person's physical and mental capacity to perform work in a safe and productive manner. This process is normally geared to individuals whose disabilities permanently prevent them from returning to their prior positions without job modification and is normally overseen by a vocational counselor or therapist. For instances involving work-related injuries, the state workers compensation act establishes the type and range of services that must be provided the injured employee."

 

When is VR utilized?

The use of VR is typically triggered by an employer's inability or unwillingness to accommodate the IW's permanent restrictions.   

As with everything in WC, it is jurisdictionally specific.  Some states, like Minnesota, have regulations that require a vocational rehabilitation consultation if there's a reasonable expectation an IW will be totally disabled for more than 13 weeks.  Other states don't require vocational rehabilitation benefits but allow for them if an injured worker meets specified criteria, such as permanent disability.  

VR is sometimes used to rebut an opinion that an injured worker is permanently, totally disabled.  In other words, a VR specialist would identify jobs that the IW is capable of performing within his/her physical abilities and vocational skill set to disprove an opinion that the IW is incapable of earning any wages as a result of their injury.  The type of disability benefits an IW is receiving, as well as the duration for which they can receive them (total # of weeks) is governed by the state's WC law.  In some cases, converting an IW's benefits to a different status (temporary total to temporary partial) triggers a statutory cap, thereby limiting the amount/duration of benefits an IW is entitled to.

Why 'make work' doesn't make sense

Some jurisdictions prohibit it.  Others allow it.  Employees despise it.  We're talking about make-work.  Also known as "busy work."  Sometimes overzealous employers proudly state, "I'll make him count paperclips for 8 hours a day if I have to!"  The good news is, with ecovery, you don't have to.

If you are one of those employers, or a person who has personally suggested this as an option for modified duty, please ask yourself what benefit is being gained from this?

An employer is paying an injured worker wages to do a non-productive task 
Why not try to develop some type of work that provides some productivity in exchange for the wages they are receiving?  How is this helping you reduce costs or make a case to highlight the benefits of modified duty to your employees? 

It sours the employer-employee relationship
How would you feel if you were legitimately injured and were brought in to do such menial, tedious, tasks?  I'm not so sure I would be motivated to get better -- some may be motivated to be taken out of work altogether.  Employers may think that if the work is undesirable, it will motivate someone to return faster. The message really being communicated is that the employer questions the legitimacy of the injury or the restrictions and thinks they can motivate the injured worker to "miraculously recover faster."  This can lead to an injured worker returning sooner than medically advisable and result in a re-injury.  Modified duty does not mean "light duty."  It is a modification of an injured worker's pre-injury job, or a group of productive tasks that are grouped to create a modified duty position temporarily.

I now know why Employers don't often have written RTW programs...

As the Return to Wellness Specialist, I am bound by professional, moral and ethical obligation to promote RTW and encourage employers to create their own RTW programs.  And then one day I took a walk in an Employer's shoes.  I sat down to create a general RTW program for employers to implement, or at the very least, use as a reference when creating their own.  This was the inspiration for the title of this post; as these were the first words out of my mouth when I sat down to write the program.

So you're probably not a Return to Wellness Specialist...

Creating a RTW program can be a daunting task, even if your job title is "Return to Wellness Specialist."  Let's face it, it probably doesn't fall on the top of your list of things to do...but it should be there somewhere!  I understand.  It took me quite a few hours to develop the general RTW program that is available as part of our ecovery library.  I vowed from that day forward that if you're an Eastern client, implementing a RTW program should not be difficult!  We want to help our clients easily implement a program that is efficient and effective.

We're pleased to announce our ecovery newsletter for Employers!

If you're an employer who is insured by Eastern, you now have access to another great RTW resource!  Written with employers in mind, we've developed a monthly ecovery newsletter that focuses on a variety of topics including:  RTW tools and resources, a recap of the month's blog postings, "how-to" section, helpful tips, news, and reminders. 

You can access the newsletter by visiting http://www.eains.com/work/employers/additional-resources.aspx and logging in.  Upon logging in, you will see a link to access the ecovery newsletter.

If you would like to receive the newsletter via email once a month, please send an email to ecovery@eains.com and include your name, your account/policy number and the email address to send the newsletter to.

We hope you find this resource beneficial to your organization!

OSHA's $afety Pays Program

OSHA's website provides a fantastic tool to demonstrate the estimated costs of occupational injuries and illnesses and the estimated impact on an organization's profitability.  Check out the $afety Pays Program Calculator.


Here's how it works:
The user manually inputs some basic workers' compensation claims data including profit margin, type of injury/illness, and number of injuries.  The calculator has been programmed with data from the National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc. (NCCI) which details the average cost of lost time workers' compensation claims from 2006-2008.

Results:
The calculator provides the user with estimated direct costs (actual costs associated with claims which may be insured under WC policy) and indirect costs (loss of production, overtime, hiring costs, etc. -- always paid by employer).  The calculator then bases the amount of sales the employer would have to make to cover the indirect and direct costs of the claims.

The user can use this for an individual claim, or they can input their loss runs data to demonstrate just how much their WC claims costs them above and beyond premium dollars.

Considerations:
The NCCI data is based on an average including a number of states.  Numbers are only an estimate, but can serve as an eye-opener to employers who assume that "this is what I have WC insurance for."  While partly true, every employer has more at stake than just a WC premium increase.

Eastern Alliance Insurance Group Introduces ecovery Program and Return to Wellness Specialist

<!-- Methode filePath: ""

LANCASTER, Pa., May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Eastern Alliance Insurance Group (EAIG), a subsidiary of Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc., announced today the launch of ecovery, a new EAIG program that returns injured workers to wellness and productivity by using work as a therapeutic tool. EAIG is a domestic casualty insurance group specializing in workers' compensation insurance products and services.
In conjunction with the launch of the ecovery program, Sarah Tayts has been appointed as EAIG's Return to Wellness Specialist, responsible for developing ecovery tools, resources and technology initiatives to assist EAIG's agency partners and policyholders with implementing modified duty programs.
"Sarah brings a unique combination of experience in the workers' compensation industry and education in industrial and organizational psychology," said Michael Boguski, President and Chief Executive Officer of EIHI. "She has already become a tremendous asset to our organization through her role in launching our ecovery program."

EAIG has a strong philosophical commitment to modified duty. EAIG's ecovery program was developed after market research indicated a need in the workers' compensation marketplace for next generation approach to modified duty featuring comprehensive, practical information and proactive education. Instead of "Return to Work," EAIG uses the phrase 'Return to Wellness' to describe its unique, holistic approach.
"We selected the name 'ecovery' to link the Eastern brand with the goal of recovery for both the injured worker and the employer," said Suzanne Emmet, Senior Vice President of Claims and Corporate Compliance for EIHI. "The phrase 'Return to Wellness' captures the intrinsic, positive spirit of ecovery, and reflects the broader scope of the program, which promotes faster healing, increased productivity, improved employee retention and workplace culture, and reduced insurance costs."

The ecovery program features an extensive online library of turnkey and customizable materials targeting employers, injured workers, agents and medical providers. In her role as EAIG's Return to Wellness Specialist, Tayts uses webinars, newsletters, blogs and social media to communicate to EAIG agents and policyholders on a wide variety of topics related to workers' compensation and modified duty.
Prior to joining EAIG, Tayts served as a Workers' Compensation Claims Team Leader for Donegal Insurance Group. She graduated from Millersville University in Millersville, Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology with a Master of Arts degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology with a concentration in Organizational Effectiveness. She has also earned the Associates in Claims designation.

Employers can visit www.eains.com/ecovery to learn more about the ecovery program and find an independent insurance agent representing EAIG. Founded in 1997, EAIG specializes in providing workers' compensation products and services to businesses and self-insured clients. EAIG is a member of the publicly-held Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc. family of companies, with offices in Lancaster and Wexford, Pennsylvania, Charlotte, North Carolina, Carmel, Indiana, Franklin, Tennessee, and Richmond, Virginia. EAIG's Web address is http://www.eains.com/.

Check out the newly revised ecovery website!

After months of planning and development, we are proud to unveil the newly updated ecovery Return to Wellness section of our website. 




Highlights of the site include:
- Audience specific site pages for Employers, Injured Workers, Agents and Medical Providers
- Expanded ecovery library (must be logged in to access)
- Jurisdictionally relevant materials for your location
- Pages of useful, relevant, and up-to-date information

If you are already an Eastern policy holder or agency partner, you will have immediate access to these valuable tools, simply by utilizing your login for the eains.com site.

We would love to hear your feedback on the site.  We are very pleased to offer these innovative resources to our partners and thank them for their commitment to Return to Wellness.