FAQ

Effective January 1, 1999 every person firm, public service or private corporation, including the State, that employs employees regularly in the same business is subject to the Workers’ Compensation Law.

The Beacon has an approved preferred provider network comprised of providers that are experienced in treating work-related injuries. This directory contains a listing of physicians and other health care providers participating in The Beacon Preferred Provider Network. Click Here to view and print a copy or call your claim representative and ask for a copy to be sent to you.

Send in wage statements, full duty job descriptions, assist in identifying modified duty jobs and implement a return-to-work policy or program.

Injured employees are reimbursed at a state-mandated rate, which is approximately 75% of the net weekly wage, based upon a calculation of their average weekly wage prior to the injury. The employer is required to complete a state wage statement to determine the average weekly wages. Overtime and bonuses are used in the computation of the average weekly wage.

Yes. You are required to continue paying private health coverage for two years from the time the employee begins to receive workers' compensation. The employee is required to continue to maintain their weekly contribution amount. Your company is not required to maintain private health benefits if your company is subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

No. You are not required to pay injured employees during the 3-day waiting period but you can if you so choose.

It is not recommended that you make any type of benefit payments to an injured employee. By doing so, this could result in the injured employee receiving “double” payments and medical providers receiving more than required by the RI Fee Schedule.

You are required to take an injured employee back to work as stated in the Right to Reinstatement, if the injured employee returns to work within one year of their date of injury. There are exceptions and it is recommended that you speak to your claim representative to determine if you meet any of the exceptions.

You can minimize the cost by educating your work force, prompt reporting of injuries and offering modified duty. You are not required to offer modified duty. However, this is a great way to control the costs on a claim, thereby reducing your exposure. An employee is entitled to their job with reasonable accommodations per the American Disabilities Act and according to the right to reinstatement as listed in the Workers’ Compensation Act.

SAE is a formal offer of employment that mutually protects the injured employee and the employer. SAE is an offer of employment that an employee is physically capable of performing without exacerbating the medical condition. The employee is protected if the job does not meet the conditions of the SAE offer and the employer is protected if the employee does not perform the SAE as it is offered.

It is treated the same as if the employee was working regular duty.

An injured employee has the first choice to treat with whomever they choose. Any change in physician after the first choice must be within the PPN. However, all of your employees should be familiar with and encouraged to use Beacon’s Preferred Provider Network (PPN). Physicians listed in the PPN are more familiar with Workers’ Compensation and the paperwork required to process a claim.

If an injured worker is dissatisfied with the medical treatment he or she is receiving and wishes to see another physician to confirm or dispute the appropriateness of that treatment, a second opinion can be coordinated with the help of the claim representative. A second opinion is a great tool to assist an employee in directing their medical care that might not otherwise be achieving its goal.

The employee may be asked to submit to an independent medical examination, at the insurer’s expense, for an independent opinion. This is generally used when there is a dispute in the disability, injury or question of the treatment plan. Independent Medical Examiners cannot treat an injured worker.