Bureau of Workers' Compensation presents biennial budget, asks legislature for prosthetic-claim exception

Administrator and CEO Stephanie McLeod of the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation told the Senate Financial Institutions Insurance and Technology Committee at the first hearing on amended House Bill 81 that the bureau's 2026–27 budget would hold overall rates steady while seeking discrete statutory changes.

McLeod told the committee that BWC is “for all essential purposes, an insurance company,” funded by employer premium payments and serving about 258,000 public and private employers. She said BWC has approximately 1,600 employees statewide and assets of about $23,100,000,000.

The bureau's requested budget shows a 2% decrease for fiscal year 2026 compared with 2025 and a level request for fiscal year 2027 versus 2025, McLeod said. She described the request as intended to keep employer costs low while maintaining services and investing in staff to reduce reliance on contracted personnel.

McLeod identified a set of statutory changes the bureau is asking the General Assembly to consider. Chief among them is a narrowly drawn exception to a statute the bureau said requires it to close claims after five years. McLeod said that closure currently prevents additional payments for long-term needs that can arise with prosthetic devices and asked for language that would allow BWC to keep a prosthetic-related claim open for future repairs, replacements or adjustments. She summarized the proposal as: “We have asked in this budget that we have a, an exception made in the statute that requires BWC to close a claim after 5 years.”

Other items McLeod listed include proposals to: better define terms for the Federal Prison Industries Enhancement Certification Program (PICEP) so the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction can secure required workers' compensation coverage; provide BWC flexibility to conclusively resolve minimal subrogation claims; ease return-to-state-fund rules for employers using professional employer organizations (PEOs); clarify Board of Directors duties; and remove an outdated requirement that BWC administer a safety museum.

On worker-safety grants, McLeod described several programs the bureau administers or funds. She told the committee BWC offers grants for Kevlar protection for police officers, turnout-gear grants for firefighters and a school-safety grant for equipment to “harden” schools. She said a larger safety-grant program is available to employers statewide, and that grant applicants must contribute funds so “they have some skin in the game.” McLeod said applicants are limited in how often they can apply but added, “I might be wrong on that. If you really want to know, I will make sure to get that back to you,” and offered to provide the committee the exact application frequency.

Senator DeMora asked specifically about coverage for post-traumatic stress disorder in first responders. McLeod said, “Right now, PTSD is covered if it has an accompanying physical injury. There are no what we would call mental, mental, meaning a, a claim for psychological allowances that are stand alone. That is the current state of things.” She added that the question of standalone PTSD coverage is a matter for the General Assembly and suggested hearings if lawmakers wish to pursue it further.

McLeod closed by saying BWC remains financially stable and continues grants and rate work intended to support workplace safety and the state economy. The committee took questions but did not vote on House Bill 81; the session served as the bill's first hearing.

This article summarizes testimony and committee questions recorded during the first hearing on amended House Bill 81; no committee votes or formal amendments were recorded in the hearing transcript.