Annual report says more injured workers are getting paid on time.
Since shining a light on insurers’ performance records, hundreds more workers injured on the job are getting benefits on time.
And the state has attracted some outside attention for its efforts.
Overall, 85 percent of carriers made initial benefit payments within 14 days of injury, as required by the state, according to the 2002 draft annual compliance report out of the Workers’ Compensation Board.
An improvement of just 3 percent over the year prior meant about 120 more households received benefits on time last year.
Compliance for filing paperwork and benefits on time was as low as 36 percent when the state started its pilot project in 1997.
“It’s truly a success story with the Workers’ Compensation Act,” said Steve Minkowsky, deputy director of Benefits Administration.
Only Maine and Wisconsin produce report cards on insurance carrier performance.
“I’ve had California, Texas, Florida, other states call us up to see what we’re doing,” he said.
The program was lauded as “one of the best examples of carrier monitoring” in the country by the International Association of Industry Accident Boards and Commissions in January.
The group’s invited Minkowsky to speak at it’s September conference in California.
Poor performance on the annual report can get a company bumped up in the Workers’ Comp audit schedule. Companies are routinely audited at least once every five years, Minkowsky said. Fifteen audits are underway now.
Copies of the report will eventually be placed on the state Web site. Minkowsky said whenever he talks to business groups, he encourages them to shop around for the best workers’ compensation price and service. The report runs the gamut from companies that paid initial benefit claims on time in 100 percent of cases to zero percent.
kskelton@sunjournal.com
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