Vocational Rehabilitation Update

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Vocational Rehabilitation Update

We know 2024 will be a rewarding and productive year for our vocational providers. One filled with a refreshed and renewed outlook for vocational rehabilitation in Ohio.

For 2024, all of us at BWC vocational rehabilitation look forward to making this a collaborative and successful year with you!

To help our providers in 2024, we are sharing below the most common questions and answers presented to us this past year.

Q. When is the closure of a vocational rehabilitation case considered a pre-plan closure?

A. A vocational rehabilitation case is closed in a pre-plan status after the case has been assigned to a vocational rehabilitation case manager (VRCM) but there was no job retention or comprehensive plan approved, or the injured worker did not begin services of those plans.

Pre-plan closure includes cases with a VRCM assigned and a vocational rehabilitation assessment plan initiated.

Q. With outcome payments, do we use the fee schedule rates in effect when the comprehensive vocational rehabilitation plan was submitted, or do we go by the rates in effect when the injured worker successfully completes return-to-work follow-up?

A. The provider bills the fee schedule rate for the outcome payments that was in effect on the date the outcome is payable. An outcome is payable on the date the:

• Comprehensive vocational rehabilitation plan (RH-44) closes with a status of plan complete return to work.
• Injured worker completes 30 days of employment (return-to-work follow-up) with an RH-44 closed as plan complete no return to work, and the injured worker returned to work within 60 days of the plan-closure date.

Q. For vocational rehabilitation plans and reports, what are the date of submission and the date of report submission?

A. Both the date of submission and date of report submission should reflect the date they are submitted to the managed care organization (MCO).

Vocational rehabilitation form update

BWC is in the process of updating our forms with our new brand. We will be adding a notice for which forms are updated in Provider Update as they are posted to our website. 

At this time, the following vocational rehabilitation rebranded forms are posted to bwc.ohio.gov under provider forms.

• RH-1 Vocational Rehabilitation Agreement
• RH-6 On-the-Job Training Agreement
• RH-18 Application for Living Maintenance Wage Loss
• RH-19 Employer Incentive Contract
• RH-24 Gradual Return-to-Work Agreement
• RH-42 Vocational Rehabilitation Initial Assessment Report found in the Provider Forms

For more information or questions, please email Policy.R.1@bwc.ohio.gov  

Register for 2024 Ohio Safety Congress & Expo®, Mar. 27 – 29

Registration is now open for the 2024 Ohio Safety Congress & Expo^® (OSC24^®) hosted by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC).

OSC24^® is the largest free work-safety conference in the U.S. and will run March 27-29 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The event offers free continuing education opportunities for safety and health professionals across 13 educational tracks. While continuing education credits are exclusively awarded for in-person attendance, a select number of sessions will be livestreamed.

Attendance is free. Registration and educational session information is available at ohiosafetycongress.com.

Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation

Vision: To transform BWC into an agile organization driven by customer success.
Mission: To deliver consistently excellent experiences for each BWC customer every day. Core Values: One Agency, Personal Connection, Innovative Leadership, Relentless Excellence.

Established in 1912, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation is the exclusive provider of workers’ compensation insurance in Ohio, serving 257,000 public and private employers. With nearly 1,600 employees and assets of approximately $21 billion, BWC is one of the largest state-run insurance systems in the United States. For more, visit bwc.ohio.gov.