• Approximately 30 days after applying for coverage, the new employer will receive a New Employer Kit. Included in this kit is an MCO Selection Guide. This guide provides instructions to the employer on how to select a managed care organization (MCO) to medically manage their workers' compensation claims. The employer is given 30 days to select an MCO. If the employer does not choose, BWC may automatically assign an MCO at the end of the 30-day period.
  
• The second opportunity an employer has to select an MCO is during open enrollment. BWC will notify employers when open enrollment starts providing a new MCO Selection Guide. This guide includes a list of certified MCOs by county and instructs the employer as to how to review each MCO's performance and select a new one if desired. If an employer does not want to change MCOs then no action is required.

• Competition between managed-care organizations (MCOs) is geared to drive up the quality of health care while containing cost;
• HPP focuses on providing quality care with the purpose of safely returning injured workers to the job;
• HPP will eventually reduce overall health-care costs to treat injured workers;
• Lower claims costs translate to lower premium costs for employers.

• According to OAC 4123-6-28, health-care providers must notify the MCO within 24 hours (or one business day) of providing initial treatment of an injured worker.
  
• This 24-hour reporting is a legal and contractual requirement. Non-compliance could result in loss of BWC-certification, removal from an MCO's panel or both for the health-care provider.

If your injured employee sought treatment without informing you of the injury, the claim may already be filed. However, when the employer learns of a work-related injury, a call to the MCO can determine if a First Report of Injury needs to be completed.

To assist with early reporting, the MCO issues identification cards to the employer for their employees. Per OAC 4123-6-061, each employee is to be given a card identifying his or her employer's MCO.

Employers are encouraged to assist with early reporting in every possible way. Statistics show that the quicker a claim is filed and a determination made the lower the total costs of that claim will be. In the long run, early reporting results in lower workers' compensation costs overall. And lower claims costs translate to lower premiums for the employer.

Self-insuring employers and the Qualified Health Plan (QHP)

• QHP will improve the quality and medical management of health care.
• QHP provides a dispute resolution process.
• The plan requires the first notification of injury within 24 hours, which provides early intervention and lowers costs.
• Participation in QHP is voluntary for current self-insuring employers and mandatory for new self-insuring employers.
• With QHP, you will create or contract a QHP panel to provide medical services for your company's employees. Submit this QHP for certification by BWC.
• Once the QHP is certified, you and the QHP must educate your employees about the QHP panel and how they should seek services if injured.
• QHP will be responsible for medical management of all workers' compensation claims submitted by company employees.
• You are financially responsible for all services related to the QHP.