New Program Aims to Cut Costs While Helping Injured Employees Return to Work More Quickly

One of the main goals of the Ohio workers’ compensation system is to provide injured employees with financial assistance until they can return to work. That’s why the state is considering adopting a program that can help get injured workers back on the job sooner. The Enhanced Care Program launched on July 1 and works by allowing health professionals to treat injured workers as typical patients, providing faster treatment and less paperwork. Studies have shown this may allow workers to recover more quickly because they aren't waiting around on paperwork and bureaucracy to get the medical care they need, cutting an average of five to eight days of missed work for many injured workers and up to a month of missed time from more complicated cases. According to an article from the Akron Beacon Journal, the pilot project will run for the next six months in 16 counties across the state. The program will focus on uncontested knee injuries and experts expect as many as 500 cases to be processed under the pilot program. Data will then be analyzed to determine if the new procedures were effective in providing more efficient treatment to injured workers and if Ohio workers' compensation costs were reduced. If successful, the program will be expanded to include other regions of the state. At Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy, we recognize the importance of getting the medical care you need and allowing yourself plenty of time to recover after a workplace injury. But we also know that injured workers often want to get back to work as soon as possible. That’s why our Ohio personal injury lawyers are hopeful the new program will eliminate some of the wait times and paperwork that often stand between injured workers and the medical care they need.

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