Ohio's BWC to cut payments to hospitals
Ohio's Bureau of Workers Compensation will no longer be subsidizing indigent care at the state's hospitals. The recent announcement that BWC is cutting reimbursement for inpatient care to Medicare plus 15% is one of the positive outcomes of the Hydra-headed scandal at Ohio's Bureau of Workers Compensation.
And it appears likely that BWC will next cut payments for outpatient services, which make up a much larger slice of the medical expense pie.
Ohio joins several other states, including Pennsylvania. Connecticut, Rhode Island, California, and Maryland, all of which base workers comp reimbursement on Medicare costs plus a percentage.
Notably, the press has been somewhat neutral in its coverage of the change, with a recent editorial allowing that the reduction will simply result in cost-shifting to other payers. That is an inevitable result; however there is no logical, ethical, or legal requirement that the state's employers pay for the inefficiencies or hospitals or society's failure to provide insurance for all citizens.
Work comp has been a very profitable line of business for the state's hospitals, generating over a half-billion dollars over a seven year period. That figure covers both inpatient and outpatient care, with outpatient significantly larger.
What does this mean for you?
On a micro level, lower costs for workers comp in Ohio; on a macro level another push for universal coverage.