Kasich signs BWC and Industrial Commission
Budgets
COLUMBUS – Today Gov. John R. Kasich signed House Bill 123 (Hottinger)
and House Bill 124 (Hottinger), legislation setting appropriations for
the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) and Industrial Commission
(IC) for fiscal years 2012 and 2013. Both bills received broad
bipartisan support in the House and Senate.
Kasich was joined for the bill-signing ceremony by BWC Administrator
Stephen Buehrer, IC Executive Director Tim Adams, bill sponsor Rep. Jay
Hottinger, Rep. Bob Hackett and Sen. Kevin Bacon.
Bureau of Workers’
Compensation Budget
The BWC is funded through assessments charged to employers rather than
through general revenue funds. HB 123 decreases appropriations
from $657.6 million (FY 2010-2011) to $578.9 million (FY 2012-2013),
meaning that with the passage of HB 123, the burden on job creators
will be reduced by $78.7 million. Additionally, there are several
key provisions in HB 123 that clarify ambiguous language and simplify
current procedures, such as:
· Allowing the
Administrator to waive criteria certain public employers must satisfy
to become self-insuring employers;
· Reducing the time for
submission of medical bills to one year, with exceptions for Medicare
and by BWC rule;
· Modify and modernize
language that currently uses pension terms that are not accurate for
BWC actuarial analyses;
· Reducing the biannual
reporting requirements for the Health Partnership Program to annually
in order save time and resources while providing a transparent picture
of BWC in one document
Industrial Commission
Budget
The Industrial Commission, like the BWC, is funded by a portion of
employer workers’ compensation premiums. The IC budget approved
through HB 124 is nearly seven percent less than the FY 2011
budget. Though the use of technology, greater efficiency, and
smarter resource allocation, the IC has been able to cut costs and
maintain service levels, ultimately decreasing premiums on employers.
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