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From our Partners: Workers’ compensation enrollment deadlines approaching

Posted By Columbus Medical Association - CMA, Thursday, October 9, 2025

Sedgwick has mailed Group Rating and Group Retrospective Rating enrollment and reenrollment materials to qualifying employers.  Don’t miss out on the opportunity to save significantly on your workers’ compensation premium.  

In addition to annual premium savings, Sedgwick, our endorsed Partner, is proud to deliver full-service workers’ compensation claims management and cost containment strategies to nearly 60,000 hard-working Ohio employers.

Sedgwick clients annually save $160 million in workers’ compensation premium through the two highest performing savings options - Group Rating and Group Retrospective Rating.

  • Group Rating - over $4 billion in savings over the past ten years
  • Group Retrospective Rating - over $1 billion has been earned by participants since implementation in 2009

For traditional Group Rating, Sedgwick must receive your enrollment by November 14, 2025.  For Group Retrospective Rating, Sedgwick must receive your enrollment by January 23, 2026.

If you would like to request an analysis or if you have any questions, contact our Sedgwick program manager, Peyton Rosier at 614-506-8195.

 

Tags:  Sedgwick 

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True-Up Process: Report Due August 31

Posted By Columbus Medical Association - CMA, Tuesday, July 15, 2025

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) provides workers’ compensation coverage based on estimated payroll. Therefore, at the end of the policy year, BWC asks employers to report their actual payroll for the prior policy year and pay any shortage (or receive a refund for any overage) in premium. This process is called a true-up. If the true-up is not completed timely, the following may occur:

  • Employer will not be eligible for prior year rebates and incentives
  • Employer will be removed from current year programs
  • Employer will become ineligible for programs the following year and will continue to remain ineligible for all future years until all past true-ups are completed.

How to report payroll and complete the true-up
Although employers may contact BWC at (800) OHIO-BWC (800.644.6292) and complete their true-up report over the phone, BWC anticipates high call volumes and long wait times. They strongly encourage employers to complete their true-up report online through their BWC e-account at www.bwc.ohio.gov. If you do not have an e-account, simply select the Create E-Account Link to begin. You will need your BWC policy number and/or Federal Tax Identification Number.  

Deadline: Private employers - True-up report must be completed and payment received no later than August 31, 2025. 

Please note: There is no longer a grace period. True-up and payment (if owed) must be POSTED by the deadline date.

If you have any questions, contact our Sedgwick program manager, Dave Deyo, at david.deyo@sedgwick.com.

 

 

Tags:  Partner Story  Sedgwick 

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Complacency and the Workplace

Posted By Columbus Medical Association - CMA, Friday, July 11, 2025

In today’s fast-paced work environment, many employees find themselves settling into routines that can often lead to complacency.  Complacency can be defined as, doing the same task for so long without incident that you assume nothing will ever happen.  While familiarity with tasks can create a sense of comfort, it can also pose significant risks, especially concerning workplace safety.  It’s crucial to understand how complacency can lead to accidents and what can be done to mitigate these risks. Complacency can affect anyone at any age, regardless of their experience, so it is important to train all employees on how to spot complacency among themselves and other employees.

Let’s take an example of a person who performs a daily safety inspection before production starts.  The purpose of the inspection is to identify any potential safety hazards.  This daily routine occurs for months even years without incident.  But, because “an incident has never occurred”, the employee decides to skip an inspection one day and no injuries resulted.  So, the employee skips another one, then another, and soon inspections are rarely being conducted.     Until something happens.  Skipping important safety steps due to complacency could result in serious injury to the employee or fellow workers.

Usually, the best person to spot complacency is the employee themselves, but complacency can mean they don’t see the dangers right in front of them.  To overcome this, teach employees to spot signs of complacency in their co-workers first.  The more they learn how to recognize these signs in others, the easier it will be to recognize it in themselves.  

Keep an eye out for the following situations that may indicate complacency is setting in:

  • Dissatisfaction with work and/or lack of motivation
  • Taking short cuts in work processes, safety procedures or inspections
  • Increased frequency of near-misses or incidents
  • Changes in attitude 
  • Noticeable increase or decrease in communication 
  • Tardiness for meetings or shifts

Increased employee engagement is a great way to help workers get out of the rut of complacency.  Actions workers can take include:

  • Consciously focusing on the task at hand.  
  • Identifying distractions when they come up and dismissing them.
  • When conducting repetitive tasks, be on the lookout for procedural improvements that can help break up the monotony.
  • Understanding the greater purpose of their job, such as the finished product or report, and interacting with team members regularly.  


Identifying and addressing complacency is a team effort.  Not only is it key for employees, but the employer can assist by implementing best practices such as:

  • Share the Mission— Remind employees of the company’s purpose and goals so they maintain a connection to the larger missions and emphasize that their behaviors have an impact.
  • Minimize Routines—Since repetition is related to complacency, consider job rotation or change up some of the work tasks to add variety to an employee’s job.  Providing differing work tasks can help maintain focus and keep employees from falling into “cruise control” mode.
  • Encourage observation of others - Have employees briefly stop work and observe the actions of others as they work.  Observing others raises one’s own awareness, as well as the awareness of their co-workers.
  • Correct poor performance - Mentoring programs and coaching can help employees identify and correct poor work practices and potential problems before an injury occurs.
  • Conduct safety discussions and tool box talks – Make safety talks part of a daily routine and get employees involved and engaged with team members.
  • Share Knowledge – Have employees identify and share the steps they perform to complete a job.  Having another set of eyes or someone else’s ideas may help improve the process.   

Complacency can be a dangerous thing, and everyone is susceptible.  It can lead to underperformance, low job satisfaction, workplace accidents and low morale.  But with a team effort and employee engagement, complacency doesn’t have to run the workplace.

If you would like to know more about Sedgwick’s safety services or would like to schedule a confidential consultation, please contact Andy Sawan at andrew.sawan@sedgwick.com or 330.819.4728.

 

Tags:  Partner Story  Sedgwick 

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The power of your TPA claims examiner relationship

Posted By Columbus Medical Association - CMA, Thursday, June 12, 2025

As a Sedgwick TPA customer our goal is to always provide you with comprehensive and immediate service for all of your workers’ compensation claim needs.    Part of that service includes a dedicated claims examiner assigned to your account who can offer a detailed plan of action to assist you in navigating the Ohio workers’ compensation system.    

When your company experiences a workers’ compensation claim, your assigned claims examiner will typically receive notice of the claim within a few days of the filing.  Their immediate goal is to complete a claim review of all documentation available so that they can notify you of any concerns with the information on file.  Some of the caution signs they monitor include:

  • Prior medical history to the same body part
  • A delay in seeking treatment
  • Vague or inconclusive injury descriptions
  • Medical treatment discrepancies
  • The injury is reported soon after a known employer discipline 
  • Hobbies or extracurricular activities that could cause the reported injury
  • Medical conditions that co-exist alongside the primary diagnosis (comorbidities)

Once the validity of a claim is verified your claims examiner will develop a detailed plan of action to monitor and help move the claim to final resolution either through full and final settlement of the claim or a full duty return to work.

Early communication with your claims examiner can provide clarity in the investigation process, reduce administration delays and ensure forward motion of the claim, which is a benefit to both you and your injured worker.    

While it is an unfortunate fact that workers do get injured on the job and the majority of those claims are credible, a strong relationship with your assigned claims examiner who can review what options are available to you as the employer to mitigate time and expense in the claim is one of the best tools you have in your toolbox. Their expert knowledge of the Ohio Workers’ Compensation system can help you make informed decisions that will lead to successful claim outcomes.  

If you have any questions, contact our Sedgwick program manager, David Deyo, at david.deyo@sedgwick.com.

 

Tags:  Partner Story  Sedgwick 

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