Effects of an early return-to-work program on the costs of workers' compensation.

摘要

One of the major issues confronting employers in the United States today is the high cost associated with workers' compensation insurance. Although many factors contribute to the total overall cost of workers' compensation, the major cost driver besides medical is lost time from work. As time off work due to a disabling injury increases, so do injury-related costs such as indemnity payments, medical and legal expenses, and employee costs.; This study will investigate the relationship between the implementation of an Early Return to Work program as a component of an Employers' Disability Management program and its effects on one of the cost drivers affecting their compensation cost (lost time). The purpose of this study is to determine to what extent there is a relationship between early return to work and the length of time off work (TOW) and successful return to work (outcome).; This study compares two Early Return to Work (ERTW) programs, one with labor/management support (Toledo), and one without (Cleveland), and it evaluates each program's effect on time off work (TOW) and rehabilitation outcome. This study will seek to find which of the following characteristics were predictors of desired outcome: Program type (labor/management support and non-labor/management support); Occupational group; and Nature of disability.; The employer's ability to impact workers' compensation costs has wide-reaching implications in the workforce. Determining the impact of early return to work on time off work and outcome will guide rehabilitation professionals, employers, Disability Management companies, Managed Care Organizations, insurance firms, and other professionals providing assistance in the worker's compensation arena to develop effective Early Return to Work programs whose goal is to manage lost time—that is, return injured workers safely and effectively back to work, and reduce workers' compensation costs for the employers.; Rehabilitation professionals, insurance companies, employers, and public and private rehabilitation companies and agencies need to have knowledge of what characteristics predict return to work in a workers' compensation setting in order to increase programmatic emphasis on those program characteristics that affect time off work (TOW).