Employer Handicap Reimbursement Program name change | Sedgwick

The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) Employer Handicap Reimbursement Program is designed to encourage employers to hire and retain employees with pre-existing medical conditions. In some circumstances, the employer may be eligible for reimbursement of a percentage of claim charges if an employee with a pre-existing condition suffers a lost time industrial injury or occupational disease and documentation supports that the pre-existing condition delayed the employee’s recovery.

The BWC has recently proposed terminology changes related to this program. Effective April 6, 2023, Ohio Revised

Code 4123.343 was revised, and the term “handicapped employee” was replaced with “employee with a disability”. To align with the 2023 change, the BWC is updating references from “handicap reimbursement” to “disability relief”. These updates affect code terminology only and do not change program eligibility criteria.

To prepare for this upcoming terminology change, Sedgwick has begun updating correspondence materials to reflect the change from “handicap reimbursement” to “disability relief” and expect those updates to be completed soon. Although the program name is changing, Sedgwick cost containment services will continue to be best-in-class. Our dedicated team of experienced disability relief colleagues will continue to review eligible claims for relief opportunity, file disability relief applications, and achieve favorable outcomes on behalf of our clients.

If you have any questions, contact our Sedgwick program manager, Cordell Walton, at 614.827.0398 or cordell.walton@sedgwick.com.