THE VALUED VOICE

Each year, the Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau (WCRB) submits recommended worker’s compensation (WC) premium changes to the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI). At the WCRB’s May 23 meeting, the Committee approved filing a 8.84% decrease in WC rates with OCI. If approved by OCI, the new rates will take effect October 1, 2019. OCI action is expected later this month.

This decrease would be the latest in a series of significant cost reductions for the WC program, and the fourth straight year employer premiums have gone down. Worker’s compensation premium rates remain lower in 2019 than they were over a decade ago, and according to the Department of Workforce Development, rate reductions in 2017 and 2018 have amounted to $304 million in savings to Wisconsin employers.

The health care provider coalition continues to encourage the Legislature to reject proposals to dismantle Wisconsin’s strong WC system. In recent legislative sessions, lawmakers have flatly rejected proposals to shift WC to a medical fee schedule structure, which would put government in the position of determining reimbursement rates for medical providers who treat injured workers. The coalition appreciates the Legislature’s ongoing support for our model WC program.