Are Texas injury benefits “self-insurance?”
Not exactly. Both workers’ compensation and Texas injury benefit programs allow employers to insure, self-fund or do a combination of insurance and self-funding. This is
Do Texas injury benefit programs provide protections against discrimination and retaliatory discharge of injured workers?
Yes. Texas injury benefit employers are subject to several federal laws that make it unlawful for any person to discriminate or retaliate against an injured
Is a Texas injury benefit program just like workers’ compensation reform legislation?
No. Workers’ compensation reforms have historically tended to focus on reducing benefits, reducing physician reimbursements and narrowing compensability. Such reforms also commonly do little (if
How do Texas injury benefit programs compare to workers’ compensation?
There are significant differences: Hyper-regulated, government-run workers’ compensation programs can cost a state tens of millions of taxpayer dollars every year to operate and the
Is a Texas injury benefit program the same as “Opt-Out”?
No. Texas employers have three choices: Opt-in to Workers’ Compensation – Traditional, statutory government-run workers’ compensation system Opt-in to QCARE – A responsible Texas injury
Are there supporters of Texas injury benefit programs within the workers’ compensation industry?
Yes. There are thousands of workers’ compensation industry professionals who believe in and support Texas injury benefit programs. For example: Many sophisticated Fortune 500 risk
Do injured workers have access to the courts for benefit disputes?
Yes. Employees have extensive internal and external rights to appeal any benefit denial, including access to state and federal courts. Federal law prohibits mandatory, final
Have independent studies been performed on Texas injury benefit programs?
Yes. Independent studies of this competitive alternative to Texas workers’ compensation have already been conducted by Stanford University School of Law and other prominent, national
Do Texas injury benefit programs focus on saving money by reducing benefits?
No. Texas injury benefit programs have never been about reducing benefits to injured workers. Instead, they rely on better communication, accountability and medical management to
If employers are more involved, how do we know they will do the right thing for injured workers?
First, Social Responsibility: Most Texas injury benefit employers take social responsibility very seriously. They commonly compete to be recognized locally and nationally as a “Best
Why do Texas injury benefit programs require faster injury reporting than workers’ compensation?
This is an advantage for everyone, not a penalty. More immediate notice of injury has several important advantages for workers and employers. Prompt injury reporting
Do Texas injury benefit programs or workers’ compensation programs pay better benefits?
The vast majority of workers’ compensation and Texas injury benefit program claims do not involve catastrophic injury. For these typical claims, all reasonable and necessary
What about tragic injury cases?
The sad truth is there are tragic stories under both workers’ compensation and Texas injury benefit programs. The questions everyone should be asking are: Which