The State of Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (OBWC) has agreed to share data regarding workers' compensation with the Social Security Administration (SSA). The OBWC maintains information that is required by SSA in order to process actions that affect the entitlement and continuing eligibility for a variety of Title II benefits and Title XVI payments. This process is referred to as Social Security Access to State Records Online (SASRO).

Workers' compensation (WC) payments are awarded to an injured employee or their survivor(s) under Federal and State WC laws, such as the Longshoremen and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act. The payments may be made by a Federal or State agency, an insurance company, or an employer.

1. Income

a. General

The WC payment less any expenses incurred in getting the payment is unearned income.

The OBWC designates selected SSA employees only in the Chicago Region to access the OBWC system. Access is via password and is online. The OBWC provides SSA with access to State information from the workers' compensation databases. This electronic single query access to OBWC records provides SSA with an efficient method for obtaining State records which are necessary to determine Title II and Title XVI entitlement or continued eligibility. This information will help ensure that entitlement and post-eligibility actions are processed in a more efficient and accurate manner than can be achieved through manual processing in a paper based operation. Online access to W/C information through SASRO is considered primary evidence of income.

Field offices requesting verification of workers' compensation benefit information outside the Chicago Region should send a fax request to the attention of “Ohio Workers' Compensation Request” at (614) 469-2040. Questions should be directed to the Columbus (DT), OH FO administrative phone at (614) 469-2460. All faxed requests for workers' compensation insurance benefit information should include at a minimum, the workers' compensation recipients name, SSN, and time periods for the receipt of workers' compensation benefits. Responses will be mailed to the requesting field office as they become available. Please allow 5 days for a response. All follow-ups should be made via fax or email to |OH FO Columbus if requests are not received within 5 days.

After you receive your PIN/password, do the following:

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  Go to the PCOM SSA Main Menu

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  Type OHBWC, Enter

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  At REQUEST, type BWCNETV, Enter

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  At USER, type your USERID given by BWC, Tab

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  At PASSWORD, type your password, Enter (we advise that you enter a New Password monthly to match your SSA network password)

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  At COMMAND, type 1, Enter

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  At Userid, type your USERID again, Tab twice

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  At Password, type your password again, Enter

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  At the top of the next screen, type ed00 (those are zeros), Enter

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  At ENTER AGENCY ID, type your USERID again, Enter

From there, you can access BWC information by Claim Number and Function # 09 OR if you don't have a Claim Number leave Claim Number blank, Tab once, key in 14, Enter to do a search by SSN:

Note the F Function keys shown at the bottom of each screen to help you maneuver.

To exit OHBWC, F3, F3, type EXIT, Enter.

Once you pull up the Payment Plan with option 09, you can see the payment Type, From and To dates paid, Weekly Rate, Total for that time period, Deduction and Absorb Amounts, etc.

 

Use F5 Notes to clarify entries about which you are unsure.

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  TYPE = Compensation or deduction type.

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  CRTED DATE = Date it was input.

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  WKLY RT = Weekly rate of payment.

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  TOTAL = Number of days multiplied times your rate.

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  DEDUCTION = Amount withheld as a deduction, such as child support (FSEA).

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  ABSORBED = Amount absorbed as an overpayment/even adjustment.

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  PAID AMT = Amount paid out at time of review.

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  APPL = Application on which payment was based.

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  FROM DATE = Beginning date of the payment row.

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  TO DATE = Ending date of the payment row.

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  WKS/DAYS = Number of weeks and days for the payment row.

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  FUND = Fund being charged.

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  PERC = Percentage charged to the specific fund.

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  HOLD DATE = Date the payment went on hold due to FSEA or 1^st 7 days.

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  MOD DATE = Date the row of payment was modified or vacated.

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  PAYEE = Person/group which received the payment.

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  PAY METHOD = How payment was received: MAIL, EFT, or EBT.

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  USER ID = Employee who generated the payment.

Other Things to Remember: If the CRTED DATE is after the TO DATE for a particular sequence, then this is a lump sum payment the person received. The individual will receive this lump sum check approximately five days after the CRTED DATE.

If the CRTED DATE is near the FROM DATE, this indicates biweekly payments for the claimant.

Vacated Payments or modifications are shown in parenthesis. These can be overpayments or adjustments for items such as Attorney Fees. Again, if you are unsure, use F5 Notes to check for an explanation. Also, check the PAID AMT column to see if payment was actually made and the amount of the payment.

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  %PP = Percent of Permanent Partial – The Injured Worker may sustain a certain amount of permanent damage as a result of an injury. %PP Award is designed to pay compensation for this remaining disability.

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  PTD = Permanent Total Disability Compensation – This is provided if the Injured Worker is declared by the Industrial Commission to be permanently and totally disabled due to a work-related injury or Occupational disease. They will not return to work.

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  TP = Temporary Partial Disability Compensation – This is payable only in claims with dates of injuries/disabilities prior to 8/22/86.

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  CO = Change of Occupation – The award is provided for certain select changes of occupations such as coal miners' and firefighters, and must be medically advisable to decrease further exposure.

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  DWRF = Disabled Workers Relief Fund – This award is supplemental to Permanent Total Disability compensation. Because PTD is based on wages at the time of the accident, DWRF is issued to keep the total rate of the award above the federal poverty level.

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  LSA = Lump Sum Advancements – An advancement of expected future payments for a good reason (i.e. payment of attorney fees, special purchases or reduction of debt). Future payment reduced by actuarial value of award. (LSAAF = LSA for attorney fees)

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  FD = Facial Disfigurement – An Injured Worker may receive up to $5000 in benefits for serious facial and head disfigurement suffered as a result of an industrial accident. The Injured Worker must prove that the disfigurement impairs or may in the future impair opportunities to retain or secure employment. Award assumes non-repairable damage.

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  LSS = Lump Sum Settlement – Final settlement of the claim. All rights to the claim terminate upon the settlement, including medical bills.

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  VSSR = Violation Specific Safety Requirements – An additional award may be issued to an Injured Worker if the Industrial Commission finds that a violation of specific safety requirements has occurred. A claim must be filed within two years of the injury.

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  DEATH = Death Benefits – Payable when death is due to an injury or occupational disease, those persons wholly or partially dependent upon decedent for support at the time of death may be entitled to a weekly award. (paid on misc. payment)

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  MEDICAL = Medical Bills Only – Applicable within six years from the date of the medical bills. Formerly, this was within six years of the injury but the statue changed. The Injured Worker is to be off work no longer than eight days (or it becomes a “lost time” claim).

BWC is looking for you to fill in the following fields:

BOX 1

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  Name

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  Section/Dept

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  Location - (street address)

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  Floor

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  Phone

BOX 2

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  Please circle ADD

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  On the last line, please put EDA after OTHER

BOX 3, BOX 4, BOX 5

Nothing

BOX 6

Please read and sign and date the ACCEPTANCE STATEMENT

After BOX 6

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  Fill in the JUSTIFICATION FOR ACCESS with “SSA Offices need Read-only access to the BWC EDA Application”

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  For the DIRECTOR information, BWC is looking for someone who is a management person who will vouch for this person and will also be the one to contact if BWC has questions about this person

After completing the BWC logon form, it can be faxed directly to BWC. Fax to:

BWC
Attn. Michelle Hurraw - Attn. Computer Security

Fax # (614) 752-8081

The logon PIN is usually mailed within two weeks.