11 Smart Ways to Manage Employees & Reduce Workers’ Comp Costs

By Robert Elliott, Sr. Vice President

Amaxx Risk Solutions Inc.

Employers who establish injury management programs can effectively “take charge” of workers’ compensation claims and significantly cut costs, by implementing a cost-control program designed to reduce corporate workers’ compensation costs by half in the first year.

The key to this process is for the employer to “take charge” of workers’ compensations claims and to not allow the injured workers to control the process. One of the most significant ways to control the process is to be sure the employer has transitional duty (modified duty) jobs injured workers can be placed in just as soon as they are medically ready, until workers can return to their original jobs at 100 percent capacity.

An Injury-Management program consists of 11 phases:

1. Hiring Qualified Employees<B> Pre-employment screening ensures an applicant is both physically and mentally capable of doing the job. Screening can include medical evaluations by company doctors, use of detailed employment application forms, background checks and credential verifications, and drug screening. Normally this screening is done “post-offer.” Note: Make sure to discuss your specific program with legal counsel to comply with all laws.

2. Managing the Claims. Companies who made a commitment to take control of their workers’ comp claims found, in many cases, the employee was controlling the process. One example, an injured employee arrived at the facility with a note in hand from a doctor stating the employee will be “out of work” for an unspecified amount of time. Training sessions are recommended for supervisors to ensure they know how to manage the program and implement in-house policies and procedures every time an injury occurs.

3. Responding Quickly After Injury. One of the most important aspects of the program is immediate reporting of the accident, transporting the employee to the company doctor, discussing medical conditions with the doctor, providing the doctor with specific forms, and returning the employee to the facility to perform a modified-duty job matching any medical restrictions.

4. Early Return-To-Work. Modified jobs must be developed for those employees who cannot return to work at 100 percent capacity. No employee is allowed to lose time from work without seeing the company doctor, who in most cases has been to the facilities and is familiar with each type of job. An employer must not hesitate to move to discontinue workers’ compensation benefits if a suitable offer of a modified-duty job is rejected by an employee.

5. Proper Documentation. Forms need to be supplied to companies and divisions that include many sample form letters and worksheets suitable for various situations. The forms are standardized and customized according to state law. Every contact with an employee or doctor is recorded in a log.

6. Coordination of Medical Care. The employer needs to encourage constant correspondence and telephone communication with medical providers. Companies are encouraged to schedule the medical appointments for their employees and then transport them to the appointments and back again. Having an MD to work on your behalf as a Medical Advisor is very helpful to obtain medical restrictions in difficult claims.

7. Medical Provider Cost Containment. Medical costs are aggressively managed to ensure the cost of care is appropriate and the duration and number of treatments are necessary. It is recommended that companies mandate fee schedule compliance, audit medical and hospital fees, use pre-selected company doctors, negotiate provider fees and engage in utilization review of all hospital admissions.

8. Insurance Company Relations. Employers let the insurance company know about its program and that it wants employees back to work as soon as medically possible. It is also very important to set a settlement authority dollar figure for all compensation claims.

9. File Audits. All comp files need to be audited at least two times per year. These are “face-to-face meetings” between company representatives, insurance company representatives and the physician. Copies of all correspondence are sent to the insurance company and frequent communication is recommended.

10. Investigation and Surveillance. Each accident is investigated immediately. In addition, any claims appearing fraudulent are investigated by professional private investigators to determine whether the injury is exaggerated. It’s recommended a company budget about 5-10 percent of the total cost of the claim for surveillance.

11. Safety Management. An effective loss control program and an in-plant safety program are important. There should be loss control inspections at every facility several times per year. Each company division is encouraged to have an active safety committee and an incentive program to reward safe performance.

The results of an effective Injury Management program can be measured by the return-to-work ratio (90-100 percent within 4 days is desired) and the cost per employee should be below $300.00 per employee, or 50% of industry average.

For more information and tools, see www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com/lower-reduce-workers-comp-costs.php. There are several free forms and tools on the site.

Robert Elliott is a senior vice president with Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. Over the past 20 years, he has worked successfully with many industries reducing Workers’ Compensation costs, such as airlines, health care, manufacturing, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and many other industries and organizations. Contact him at Robert_Elliott@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com

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