State-fund and self-insuring employers

Ohio law requires an employer with one or more employees to obtain workers' compensation coverage or be granted the privilege of self-insurance. You can use Employer/MCO look-up to determine if an employer is state fund or self-insuring.

State-fund employers primarily are either public or private employers who pay premiums into the state insurance fund. Two-thirds of Ohio's employers are covered by the state insurance fund.

The Health Partnership Program (HPP) is BWC’s managed-care system for state-fund employers. Managed care organizations (MCOs) handle the medical management of these claims and should receive first reports of injury, bills and other information.

Self-insuring employers are usually very large corporations whom BWC has granted the authority to administer their own workers’ compensation claims. Self-insuring employers pay benefits directly to their injured employees and service providers, and do not pay workers' compensation premiums into the state insurance fund.

A Qualified Health Plan (QHP) is a self-insuring employer’s medical management program designed for the individual needs of that employer. Self-insuring employers can administer the QHP themselves, contract out to a BWC-certified MCO or to other vendors.

Contact the self-insuring employer to find out where to send the first report of injury, bills and other information.

Click here to learn more about self-insuring employers.