Oklahoma Workers Compensation Reform
The state of Oklahoma has decided to revamp their workers compensation program.
The new program is called the Oklahoma Option and is similar to Texas’s workers compensation opt-out provision. The amount of money that Texas has been saving is one of the reasons that Oklahoma took interest in this new program. The new laws will take effect February 14th, 2014 and only applies to injuries that occur after January 1st, 2014.
Employers in Oklahoma who choose to opt-out will be required to provide a benefit plan that will replace workers compensation coverage. The plan must include all the same benefits that workers compensation coverage offers.
The Oklahoma Option will give employers full control of the medical treatment through their benefits plan. This a big deal because it will cut down on the amount of medical costs that are paid out each year. The employers will be able to ensure that their employees receive appropriate medical care from medical providers who follow widely accepted occupational medicine treatment protocols.
The employer will have 5 days to choose the physician his employee sees if he provides medical treatment within 5 days of notification of the injury. Otherwise, the employee can choose their physician if the employer has not provided one within that window. The idea behind this is to eliminate unnecessary treatment, reduce doctor shopping and help provide shorter periods of disability.
Some key differences between the Texas and Oklahoma Plans are: In Texas, if an employer chooses to opt out of workers compensation and an employee is injured, the employee can pursue legal action through the court system; In Oklahoma, if an employer opts out of workers compensation and the employee is injured, they must pursue their case through the normal workers compensation administrative process.
The Oklahoma Option will be backed by a guaranteed fund that will provide benefit payments in the event that a carrier or self-insured employer become insolvent and are unable to continue to pay for claims.
Oklahoma will also be switching from a court-based system to an administrative system. This change will help reduce employer costs associated with litigation and produce quicker decisions.
The intentions of this new reform is to help reduce high costs associated with workers compensation, provide quicker return to work for injured employees, and promote a better relationship for employers and injured workers. But, it will take a couple of years before we really know if this is a positive long-term change for employers. It will also be take time before we see how well this theory tests out within the court systems once someone is sued for what they feel is poor healthcare provisions.
While I think this can be a positive change, it’s such a radical shift from the norm (Texas is the only other state that doesn’t mandate work comp be in force) that I would be hesitant to jump into the “opt out” pool if I were an employer. Personally, I’d continue to pay for true workers compensation coverage and know that my company is protected by a policy that’s considered a “sole remedy” for workplace injuries.
One claim for an uninsured company could mean make or break for that company. I would not want to risk my lively hood and future over something that could have been easily avoided.