City continues positive trend in properly managing claim costs.
A comparison of the City of Sacramento’s workers’ compensation numbers with other similar-sized California cities puts the City at the top of its class in management of workers’ compensation claims. The comparison is based on 4939 full- and part-time employees.
Workers’ compensation provides wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment. Sacramento spends more than $7 million a year on workers’ compensation benefits.
“A well-managed organization continuously compares itself to the competition. There are many obligated employee expenses at the City that are beyond our control. This is one area we have been able to work together to reduce,” said Sacramento City Manager John Shirey. “I’m proud of our achievements.” he said.
Some facts:
- The City’s loss rate per employee (paid benefits/number of employees) was 55 percent below the average of similar-sized cities in California according to 2015 data. The cities included in the comparison were Fresno, Long Beach, Oakland, Riverside, Santa Ana, San Diego, San Jose and Stockton. This information was derived from the Public Self-Insurer’s Annual Report which self-insured entities are required to submit to the state each year. A low loss rate means on average less money is being spent on workers’ compensation benefits than similar-sized cities.
- The City’s incident rate per employee (reported claims/total employees x 100) was 18 percent below the average of similar-sized cities in California according to 2015 data. This means the City has fewer claims per employee than similar-sized cities in California.
The Human Resources Department staff work closely with City department directors to reduce injuries. Quarterly claim reviews with the larger departments helps to properly and effectively manage cases. Additionally, the City uses managed care tools such as Utilization Review, Nurse Case Management, and Pharmacy Management.