For immediate release: March 11, 2013

BWC discount plan rewards Ohio employers for focus on prevention and care

Enrollment period for Destination: Excellence under way, ends April 30

COLUMBUS - Enrollment is under way for Destination: Excellence, a workers' compensation discount plan that rewards Ohio employers for helping prevent workplace injuries and getting those employees who are injured back to work. More than 100,000 employers have already chosen to participate in at least one of the seven programs that are part of the cafeteria-style plan, introduced by the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) last year. These employers are expected to achieve an aggregate savings of $28-41 million.

"In addition to our focus on low and stable rates, we have emphasized prevention and care to highlight the importance of workplace safety, and achieving the best possible outcomes for Ohioans who are injured on the job," said BWC Administrator/CEO Steve Buehrer. "Destination: Excellence recognizes the importance of both objectives by offering employers the opportunity to customize a risk management plan that helps them protect the health and well-being of their workers with safer workplaces and strong return-to-work programs."

Destination: Excellence is designed to help Ohio employers focus on safety, accident prevention and return-to-work opportunities to bring injured workers back to work sooner. The plan offers a package of BWC programs that allow employers to customize their own risk-management plan and rewards their investments in accident prevention, cost control, and policy management.

The BWC programs offered as part of Destination: Excellence include:

Safety Options

• Industry-Specific Safety Program: helps employers improve workplace safety through utilizing complimentary BWC safety training, and consulting activities that focus on risks associated with specific industry types.
• Drug-Free Safety Program: promotes a work environment free of drugs and alcohol.
• Safety councils: Ohio's 80 safety councils work to increase safety awareness in the workplace and educate businesses on occupational safety and health issues.

• Transitional work bonus program: incentivizes employers for successfully utilizing transitional work to transition injured workers with restrictions back to the workplace in a safe, timely manner.
• Vocational rehabilitation: BWC partners with employers and health-care providers to develop vocational rehabilitation plans to return seriously injured workers back to the workplace.

• Go-green discount: employers can reduce paperwork and receive a premium discount for receiving their payroll report electronically, reporting their payroll and paying premiums in full on ohiobwc.com.
• Lapse-free discount: rewards employers that have had no lapses in coverage during the past 60 months can receive a premium discount.

Employers can learn more by watching this brief presentation, ohiobwc.com,, or sending an email with questions.

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