BWC RepConnect - November 2020

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Notice of upcoming outage! 

We will conduct maintenance to CoreSuite Nov. 20 – 22.

What does this mean for you? The following services will be unavailable after business hours on Friday, Nov. 20, through Sunday, Nov. 22, due to scheduled maintenance:

1. CoreSuite. 
2. Offerings on our external website www.bwc.ohio.gov that access CoreSuite.
3. External partners’ (i.e., MCOs, Ohio Industrial Commission, etc.) direct access to the CoreSuite application.

4. Access to personalized self-service information at 800-644-6292.

All functionality will be restored before Monday morning, Nov. 23.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the BWC Service Desk at 614-644-0479. You can also create a trouble ticket through the Self-Service Portal.

BWC board approves $5 billion dividend for Ohio employers

On Nov. 2, the BWC Board of Directors approved Governor Mike DeWine’s request to send $5 billion in dividends to Ohio employers to ease COVID-19’s continued impact on the state’s business community and workforce.

This is our third dividend in 2020, bringing total dividend dollars for employers to nearly $8 billion this year, all at the request of Governor DeWine. We will apply the dividend to an employer’s unpaid balances first, then send a check for the remainder in mid-December. We issued a $1.54 billion dividend in late April and $1.34 billion in October.

Our strong fiscal position is due to healthy investment returns on employer premiums, a declining number of claims each year, and prudent fiscal management. Our net position after this dividend – $6.3 billion – is very substantial and will support injured workers well into the future. 

For frequently asked questions, visit this page on our website.

New feature for C-86 online filing

We have been busy enhancing the process for filing our online Motion (C-86). In the past, applicants had to fax or mail supporting evidence to us separately.

That’s changed.

As of Nov. 20, online users can upload multiple items of supporting evidence with their online C-86 or note the evidence was previously submitted. The system will place a notation on the C-86 indicating the action taken by the user.

A final note: When looking at documents imaged into the claim file, uploaded documents are identified by the “DO” prefix in Document Management.

For additional questions on this new feature, or to have a BWC representative walk you through the process, please email us at BWC Claims Policy Field Techs.

Changes to state-fund lump sum settlement application 

The Settlement Agreement and Application for Approval of Settlement Agreement (C-240) has been updated based on changes in the settlement process due to House Bill 81. 

The updated application now includes a section where the employer can indicate the claim is no longer within their experience impact period and/or that the claimant no longer works for them. Also, to better streamline the application, questions that are pertinent to the claimant have been moved under the claimant information portion of the application.

Third-Party Administrator REP ID advice

This is a reminder to please include your Rep ID# when filing AC-2s. This ensures accuracy and timeliness of providing you access to your client’s information.

Additionally, if you have clients who have multiple representatives for different claim periods, you may consider having them assign the current representative as the ERC, and the previous representative as the CLM rep. If they have more than two representatives, additional representatives will need to be assigned to specific claims.

If you have questions regarding your representation, please contact the Self-Insured Department at SIINQ@BWC.State.OH.US or call using our directory here.

BWC moves Safety & Hygiene headquarters to downtown Columbus

We have moved our Division of Safety & Hygiene headquarters from Pickerington to our headquarters in downtown Columbus.

Sixty-two employees located at 13430 Yarmouth Drive in Pickerington have moved their offices to the William Green Building at 30 W. Spring St., Columbus. 

Phone numbers and email addresses remain the same for relocated staff, who, like most BWC staff, continue to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote services during the pandemic will continue. In-person safety training previously offered in Pickerington will be held at designated locations in the greater Columbus metropolitan area once they resume. 

Our Division of Safety & Hygiene offers employers numerous programs and services designed to prevent workplace accidents and injuries, including safety grants, expert safety consultations, training and education, and a free lending library of safety instructional materials. Click here for more about the division.

The William Green Building includes 30 floors, approximately 1,400 employees, and six state offices, including the Ohio Industrial Commission and the Ohio Ethics Commission. 

Effective immediately, Safety & Hygiene’s mailing address is: 

Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation

Division of Safety & Hygiene

30 W. Spring St., 25th Floor Columbus, Ohio, 43215

2021 Ohio Safety Congress & Expo to be completely online

To keep attendees safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, we will offer the 2021 Ohio Safety Congress & Expo (OSC21) as an online-only event.

The annual event, to be held March 10 – 11, 2021, will feature dozens of learning sessions and a digital expo, allowing participants to chat virtually with vendors about new and existing products and services. As always, attendance is free to Ohio employers. Registration for OSC21 will be available in December.

Medical & Health Symposium 2021 goes virtual!

Save these dates — April 8 – 10, 2021 — for our first-ever virtual Medical & Health Symposium offering free learning opportunities for professionals serving injured workers. We invite health care practitioners and their staff, office administrators, and legal professionals to join our online interactive experience.

Next year’s symposium offers our same award-winning quality sessions, speakers, and exhibitors.

You will be joining health-care and workers’ compensation professionals for live educational sessions on the latest topics impacting injured workers and their providers.

You may mingle virtually with exhibitors and meet other leaders in the workers’ compensation field — online from the comfort of your home or office. Our virtual event will assist in broadening your workers’ compensation medical knowledge and will offer free continuing education credit from leading national and state experts.

We will be requesting continuing education credits for most health-care fields as well as continuing legal education (CLE).

Exhibitor opportunities available

 If your business relies on other businesses to provide equipment, assistance, the newest technology, or other workers’ compensation-related products and services — we have you covered! Virtual exhibitors may network with our staff, as well as health-care and legal professionals.

We invite you to participate with a virtual booth that provides live streaming opportunities as well as live chat for participants visiting your booth.

Exhibitors may take advantage of virtual symposium opportunities by calling 614-629-8294 or emailing medsymposium@bwc.state.oh.us. For symposium questions, email medsymposium@bwc.state.oh.us or call 1-800-644-6292, options 0-3-0.

As we make our symposium plans, stay tuned to RepConnect or visit our website, www.bwc.ohio.gov.

We look forward to seeing you April 8 – 10, 2021, at our virtual Medical & Health Symposium, 2021!

Kids’ Chance helps injured workers’ families

Kids’ Chance of Ohio changes lives by offering scholarships to children of workers who have been totally disabled or fatally injured on the job. Every story is one of turning tragedy into triumph. Malerie Mysza shares how Kids’ Chance helped her realize her dream of becoming an occupational therapist so she could help people like her father, who suffered brain injuries and blindness after a work accident.

If you would like to support Kids’ Chance of Ohio or know someone who is eligible for its scholarships, visit https://kidschanceohio.org.

Established in 1912, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation is the exclusive provider of workers’ compensation insurance in Ohio and serves 249,000 public and private employers. With nearly 1,800 employees and assets of approximately $28 billion, BWC is one of the largest state-run insurance systems in the United States. Our mission is to deliver consistently excellent experiences for each BWC customer every day. For more, visit www.bwc.ohio.gov.