Business, labor, insurers support state's move to eClaims system

Add New York to the list of states moving to electronic reporting of employer claims data. Workers' comp regulators announced the transition to an electronic employer report of injury system beginning in the spring of next year.

More than 30 states use or plan to use the Claims Electronic Data Interchange system developed by the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions. It is recognized "as the national best practice for First Report of Injury/Subsequent Report of Injury, and has a proven track record," according to the New York Workers' Compensation Board.

Based on the experience of other states, the board "anticipates that its adoption in New York will yield significant benefits," the WCB said. It will "provide timely, accurate, and credible electronic reporting."

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Oregon: Notice of claim acceptance changes (12/01/11)

Specifically, the board predicts the eClaims system will "reduce system waste and increase efficiency, meaning businesses will save while injured workers will receive their benefits faster."

Praise for the move came from the head of the New York State AFL-CIO, the president and CEO of the New York State Business Council, the chief executive deputy director for the New York State Insurance Fund, the head of the IAIABC, and the American Insurance Association.

The board is developing "transparent and continuous two-way communications" with affected stakeholders. The board's Office of Stakeholder Outreach and Education is requesting departmental contact information from carriers, self-insurers, and third-party administrators to enhance the board's ability to interact directly with the appropriate individuals.

The board identified the following forms that must be submitted via the eClaims filing process:

C-2: Employer's Report of Work Related Injury/Illness.
VF-2: Political Subdivision's Report of Injury to Volunteer Firefighter.
VAW-2: Political Subdivision's Report of Injury to Volunteer Ambulance Worker.
C-7: Notice that Right to Compensation is controverted.
C-669: Notice to Chair of Carrier's Action on Claim for Benefits.
C-8/8.6: Notice That Payment of Compensation Has Been Stopped or Modified.

To submit the filings, the board says a Flat File or an extensible markup language file may be submitted using a secure file transfer protocol. These files "must adhere to the IAIABC's EDI Claims Release 3 format and can be submitted directly to the WCB's SFTP server or through a third-party vendor," the board said. It will also offer a secure data entry Web application "intended primarily for small volume filers, but not limited solely to that group."

The board is in the process of establishing an implementation schedule to rollout the eClaims mandate. National carriers and TPAs will likely be part of the earliest groups followed by groups of New York specific claim administrators.

Read more at the WorkersComp Forum homepage.

March 29, 2012

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