WSIB Rate Increase for Hospitals
For the Attention of Hospital CEOs, Chief Human Resource Officers, Chief Financial Officers, Board Chairs, OHA Board of Directors and CACN Members
From Greg Shaw, Vice President, Strategic Human Resources Management
Late last week, the Board of Directors of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) approved the first rate increase for employers in many years. The 2006 Preliminary Premium Rates for all Rate Groups in Schedule 1 have recently been posted on the WSIB website. As previously communicated on July 22nd to our member hospitals, the preliminary average premium rate for Schedule 1 employers is $2.26 for every $100 of insurable earnings. This is a 3% increase over the average rate for 2005.
This 3% increase means that some employers have seen premium rates for their industry sector decrease. However, 2006 premium rates for hospitals (Rate Group 853) have been recalculated, resulting in a 9.6% increase. This is in addition to a 3% increase in insurable earnings. According to the WSIB, premium rates for individual rate groups have been recalculated based primarily on injury frequency and claims costs for individual rate groups. 2006 premium rates are now posted on the WSIB website at www.wsib.on.ca
The OHA understands that feedback from employers, employer stakeholders and the Ministry of Labour will be used to develop a final set of premium rates, which the WSIB Board of Directors will approve this coming fall. The OHA is preparing a letter that will be sent to the Interim Chair WSIB, the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care outlining our position that a premium rate increase for hospitals is not justified and should be rolled back.
The OHA is also investigating the possibility of changing the WSIB status of hospitals from Schedule I to Schedule II. We look forward to updating you on the status of this project in early Fall.