Sponsored by:
Continuing Education Credit Awarded
WC Update 2010
Strategies to Control Costs
Effective Safety Program
Minimize Costs of WC Claim
Modified W
ork
Defending Claims
Thursday,
September 16
Cleveland
Thursday,
September 23
Columbus
For All
Self-Insured
& State Fund
Ohio Employers
Effective
Strategies for
Controlling
Workers’
Compensation
Costs in Ohio
Ohio Workers’ Compensation
Seminar Series
Garvin & Hickey, LLC
Seminar Schedule of Events
8:00 a.m. Registration & Continental Breakfast9:00 a.m. Welcome & Seminar Overview
Tony Seegers, Director, Labor and Human Resources Policy, Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Columbus 9:15 a.m. How to Control Rising W.C. Costs … Ohio Workers’ Comp Update 2010 & Recent Court Cases
Impacting Your Costs
n Recent developments in Ohio Workers’ Compensation impacting both self-insured and state-fund employers. n Review of recent court cases in Ohio Workers’ Compensation and intentional tort.
n Defending the questionable claim through effective investigating. n When to accept and when to reject a W.C. claim.
Preston J. Garvin, Principal, Garvin & Hickey, LLC, Columbus (Mr. Garvin is Ohio’s premier legal
expert representing employers on workers’ comp issues and has served as the Special Counsel to the Ohio Chamber of Commerce for workers’ comp since 1980. He’s been intimately involved in all workers’ comp legislation in Ohio over the past 25 years, and a member of every task force and commission that the Ohio General Assembly has created on Workers’ Comp reform. He received the Patrick J. O’Neil Award by the Ohio Self-Insurers Association in 1997, and has been listed in the Best Lawyers in America for 10 consecutive years. In addition, he was voted by his peers as one of the one of Ohio ‘s Super Lawyers for 2004, 2005, 2006 with a placement of one of the top 50 lawyers in Columbus and top 100 in Ohio. Mr. Garvin started his career at the Industrial Commission where he served as Legal Director and Chief Legal Advisor in the mid 1970s.)
10:00 a.m. Break
10:15 a.m. How to Control Rising W.C. Costs … How to Minimize & Control the Costs Once a Claim Has Been Allowed by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Comp
n Minimize the cost of an injury or illness claim.
n Effective strategies for controlling the costs of: Temporary Total, Wage Loss, Permanent Partial, Permanent Total, Settlement & Subrogation
Michael J. Hickey, Principal, Garvin & Hickey, LLC, Columbus (Mr. Hickey has represented
thousands of Ohio employers in all areas of workers’ compensation for over 24 years after serving as the Chief of the W.C. Section for the Ohio Attorney General and the Assistant Attorney General. He has received the Ohio Legal Center Institute of Award of Merit, and is listed in the Best Lawyers in America, Business First’s Who’s Who In Columbus Law and Columbus Monthly Magazine’s Top Lawyers in Columbus. He has been voted consistently as one of Ohio’s Super Lawyers over the last decade.)
Attend this special series of seminars to help you reduce your next Workers’ Comp bill!
Effective Strategies for Controlling
Workers’
Compensation
Costs in Ohio
Attend this special series of seminars to help you reduce your next Workers’ Comp bill!
Effective Strategies for Controlling
Workers’
Compensation
Costs in Ohio
For Quick Registration: Log Onto www.MECseminars.com
Cleveland – Thursday, September 16, 2010
Embassy Suites Cleveland-Rockside, 5800 Rockside Woods Blvd.
(near I-77 exit at Rockside Road), Independence
Columbus – Thursday, September 23, 2010
Holiday Inn Columbus-Worthington, 7007 North High Street(Near I-270/SR 23 South), Columbus
11:00 a.m. Break
11:15 a.m. How to Control Rising W.C. Costs … Establishing a Drug Free Workplace
n Ohio businesses lose millions of dollars because of problems related to employees’ abuse of alcohol and drugs & pay more annually in medical claims and other benefits. n For state-fund employers, BWC approved this year a new Drug Free Safety Program (DFSP), rewarding employers with premium discounts ranging from 3-7 percent n Steps to implementing a drug-free workplace including legal issues, chemical dependency assessment & treatment options, employee policies & communications, contacting vendors for drug testing and training supervisors.
Dee Mason, Founder/CEO, Working Partners, Columbus (Ms. Mason serves as technical advisor
for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s Drug-Free Workplace Program (DFWP) and for the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services on DFWP issues. She wrote the BWC’s technical assistance manual and provided training on the issues to their personnel. Ms. Mason’s work has gained national attention from U.S. Dept. of Labor, Office of National Drug Control Strategy, SBA, and Dept. of Health and Human Services, The Institute for a Drug-Free Workplace-102 member organization comprised of seven out of America’s ten largest companies, twenty-four of the Fortune 50 and eighty of the Fortune 200, Employee Assistance Professionals Association and more.)
Noon Luncheon
Choice of Two Breakout Sessions from 12:45 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.
A. Self-Insured Employers: Settlements & Medicare Set Asides & New SCHIP Reporting Requirements While workers’ compensation self-Insures have historically only needed to know state regulatory requirements, they know need to know and understand new federal reporting and compliance requirements regarding Medicare Secondary Payer law, Medicare and SCHIP in order to avoid hefty fines. Learn how to avoid the legal pitfalls of Medicare secondary payer statute when settling a W. C. claim. When you must submit an MSA to CMS for approval. Learn the most up to date SCHIP reporting and compliance information.Matthew D. Shufeldt, Attorney, Garvin & Hickey, LLC, Columbus and Leo McCann, Vice President, The Frank Gates Service Company, Inc., Dublin
B. State-Fund Employers: The Nuts & Bolts of BWC Rating & Alternative Premium Discount Programs to Control Rising W.C. Costs in Ohio
The BWC has made several key changes to the workers’ compensation system; understand how these will impact your program. Learn new strategies to for controlling your worker’ compensation costs and produce the best results for your organization.
Kelly Denk, Assistant Vice President; Todd Spence, Director Ohio State Fund Operations, and Dave Merz, Assistant Vice President, The Frank Gates Service Company, Inc., Dublin
From a previous Ohio Chamber of Commerce Workers’ Comp seminar attendee:
“I’ve attended a lot of seminars on workers’ compensation and this one is,
by far, the most in-depth and informative. The written materials will be an
excellent resource for our company,”
Rebecca Huryn, Benefits Administrator, Velotta Company, Sharon Center, OH
Choice of Two Breakout Sessions from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
C. Self-Insured & State-Funded Employers: Modified Work to Control W. C. Costs in OhioHow to use modify work to control W.C. costs. How & when to make a good faith job offer. Review of the legal theory of abandonment of employment and its use in defense of claims.
Preston J. Garvin, Principal, Garvin & Hickey, LLC, Columbus
D. State-Funded Employers: Controlling Your Workers’ Comp Costs with an Effective Safety Program (PART ONE)
How to create a safety culture, 5 steps to implementing an effective safety program & evaluating your safety program effectiveness. (Required safety training for employers in group rating program or group retrospective rating program, who had a claim within the 2 preceding calendar years.)
Kathy Denhard, Manager Business Development, Safex, Inc., Westerville
Choice of Two Breakout Sessions from 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
E. Self-Insured & State-Funded Employers: Blueprint for Defending W.C. ClaimsHow to prepare to defend a claim during the administrative hearings & court litigation. Securing the best evidence. Use of independent medical examinations. Defending Violation of Specific Safety Requirements (VSSR) claims.
Michael J. Hickey, Principal, Garvin & Hickey, LLC, Columbus
F. State-Funded Employers: Controlling Your Workers’ Comp Costs with an Effective Safety Program (PART TWO)
How to create a safety culture, 5 steps to implementing an effective safety program & evaluating your safety program effectiveness. (Required safety training for employers in group rating program or group retrospective rating program, who had a claim within the 2 preceding calendar years.)
Kathy Denhard, Manager Business Development, Safex, Inc., Westerville 4:15 p.m. Adjournment for the Day
