John Kasich appointee Stephen Buehrer has publicly announced that the Ohio BWC is asking the Ohio legislature to pass legislation that will take away an injured worker’s right to choose their own physician after 45 days. Here is a quote from a Celina Ohio meeting Mr. Buehrer had with the Celina Chamber of commerce. “Finally, the BWC is asking the legislature to allow it to move employees on disability for more than 45 days to doctors with a proven record of getting people back to work quickly, he said.” *
Instead the injured worker will be forced to submit to treatment by a physician chosen by the Ohio BWC. This workers comp law change will hurt the very workers that the system was designed to protect The Managed Care Organizations are bad enough. My experience representing Ohio injured workers has shown me that denials of medical treatment are a constant problem in most claims, even with a cooperative doctor. When those physicians who don’t cave in to the Managed Care Organizations and BWC by pushing people back to work before they are ready are eliminated from the picture, who will help those people who get hurt at work?
One way to prevent this from happening is to help get Ed Fitzgerald elected to the office of the Governor of the State of Ohio this November. His background is impressive including the fact that he practiced law and represented injured workers in BWC court appeals. He has stated that if elected he will appoint an Ohio BWC Administrator that shares his personal philosophy that the Ohio BWC was intended to help injured workers, and not focus on lowering employer costs at the expense of needed treatment and benefits.
Please research Ed Fitzgerald and share what you learn with others. Look at www.edfitzgeraldforohio.com
* The full article is linked below:
http://www.dailystandard.com/archive/2014-02-05/stories/23159/state-agency-takes-cost-cutting-steps