Ashtabula County

It is spring in Ohio which means that for the northernmost county in our state, Ashtabula County, there is still snow piled up in the corner of a parking lot somewhere. It also means that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, risk manager Lori Larson is directing a quarterly claims staffing meeting with her representatives from Sedgwick MCO, Sedgwick TPA and the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.

In past years at Lori’s direction, all meetings have been conducted onsite at the beautiful and historic County Courthouse located in Jefferson, Ohio. These meetings provided an ideal forum for all parties to discuss and implement cost containment strategies and best practices to help deal with the county’s most complex claims. However, like most everything in 2020, we have been forced to adapt and improvise, no longer meeting in person but instead using internet technologies as our forum.

At Lori’s direction, Ashtabula County takes an aggressive hands-on approach to claims and return to work management. Committed to safety, Lori developed proactive measures to investigate each work-related accident or near miss in order to help determine the best course to prevent future incidents. Early on, she identified the benefit of working directly with her employees, as well her Sedgwick MCO and TPA partners to help facilitate a safe and quick return to work for the injured worker in either a full or transitional duty capacity.

Ashtabula County also takes advantage of the BWC’s Individual Retrospective Rating program. This program allows employers to pay discounted premium in exchange for assuming a pre-selected level of claim costs over a period of ten years. If claim costs exceed premium savings the program can be costly. Recognizing the potential for liability, Lori and her Sedgwick and BWC team have coordinated effective communication and management strategies that have resulted in many positive returns.

As a result, the county has realized approximately $1.5 million in savings through the program since 2011. Some other documented positive results are:

• The average cost of a medical only claim has decreased by more than 50% from 2011 to September 30, 2020.
• The average cost of a lost time claim has decreased by more than 55% over the same period.
• The number of lost time claims has decreased by more than 60% since 2014.
• Four-year total modified losses have decreased by over 13% since 2014.
• The experience modifier remains below 1.00 and has decreased by 12% since 2014.
• Since 2011, premium has decreased by more than 25%.