BWC Board Hears Initial MCO Study Results

The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) board of directors has initiated a study of the effectiveness of the Managed Care Organization (MCO) system, the BWC’s contracted network of organizations that approve injured workers’ medical treatment and pay workers’ medical bills.

The initial results indicate that Ohio performs better than the national average with respect to return-to-work, injury incidence, and cost to treat injuries. And those savings, according to the study, are not associated with reduction of positive outcomes or quality of care.

However, over the last five years, there has been no decrease in days absent during the first year following injury for the three types of lost-time claims studied (low back pain, shoulder injury, knee arthroscopy).

Most injured workers and employers say they are satisfied with MCOs’ medical management, according to the study. 11/28/2018