Workers’ compensation benefits are valuable for anyone with a job-related health challenge. If someone cannot work because they get hurt on the job, workers’ compensation can help them pay their bills. The benefits available don’t fully cover someone’s wages but are better than going without any income.
People often focus so much on the disability benefits available through workers’ compensation that they fail to consider the medical benefits that workers can receive. Many people dismiss workers’ compensation medical coverage initially. After all, they may have health insurance. The idea that they need special coverage for medical costs may seem silly at first. However, the medical benefits available through workers’ compensation can be as valuable, if not more valuable, than disability benefits when looking at the big picture.
Injured workers don’t have to share care costs
Someone with a job-related medical issue might initially contemplate using their own policy to cover their expenses. However, health insurance passes on what insurance companies call patient responsibility costs. Most policies have a deductible that applies. Someone has to pay thousands of dollars for care before they are eligible for any coverage.
Even then, there are two other types of patient responsibility costs that people have to cover. Co-pays can range anywhere from $5 to $20 or more. People have to pay a copay for each medical appointment they attend or each prescription that they require.
Standard health insurance also often imposes co-insurance costs. Patients may have to pay a certain percentage of their total expenses even after paying their deductible for the year. Those costs can add up to tens of thousands of dollars in financial responsibility for treatment made necessary by someone’s job. Workers’ compensation medical coverage does not impose any patient responsibility costs.
The program pays for 100% of the necessary medical expenses associated with a job-acquired health challenge. Workers’ compensation pays for medical evaluations and testing. Patients can receive coverage for treatment, surgery, physical therapy and prescription medication. At a time when they may have no income or substantially reduced earning potential, eliminating medical expenses can be a crucial form of economic protection.
Claims can become complicated
While workers’ compensation medical coverage offers robust financial protection, it can still be difficult for people to make the most of those benefits. The average person may struggle to understand their rights through the claims process. From selecting a doctor to questioning their diagnosis, there can be many challenges that arise when an injured employee needs medical support.
Learning more about workers’ compensation benefits, and having assistance while making a claim, can help someone maximize their benefits while minimizing their stress levels. Workers who use both disability and medical benefits can better reduce the financial impact of an incident at work.