The Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation (BWC) is offering $28 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding as reimbursement for eligible applicants to help improve air quality and cover the costs of inspections, maintenance, and improvements to indoor HVAC systems. The program is designed to assist in controlling the spread of infection and Covid-19 through the HVAC systems. SNFs, assisted living communities, and adult day centers are currently eligible to apply. Financial assistance of up to $15,000 for each independently licensed facility, is available to both state and self-insured employers. Stakeholders have requested that BWC considers adding other facilities such as ICFs/IID and inpatient hospices. This article will be updated if the BWC agrees to the expansion of eligible providers.
Eligible expenses must be incurred before March 31, 2021 (extended from December 30, 2020). This means the improvement must be bought, paid for, and installed by March 31, 2021, to qualify. Given the short turnaround, BWC had indicated they will consider retrospective funding requests if the qualifying expenses were incurred between March 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021. Page 6 of the BWC Indoor Air Quality Assistance Application provides a list of qualifying expenses which appear to include portable commercial equipment for air filtration systems and CO2 monitoring that providers might be able to buy on their own and may qualify. We recommend you confirm with BWC directly to determine whether a specific item qualifies.
Other important resources:
- BWC COVID-19 Indoor Air Quality Assistance FAQs
- BWC COVID-19 Indoor Air Quality Assistance Program Website
BWC Approves Third Billion Back To Ohio Employers
To assist providers ease the financial pressures resulting from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) the Board of Directors of the Bureau of Worker’s Compensation (BWC) unanimously approved, in October a $5 billion dividend request from Governor DeWine. This will be the third payout of more than $1 billion this year bringing to nearly $8 billion the total amount paid out to Ohio employers. Checks are expected to be mailed out to Ohio State-funded employers by mid-December. For a more detailed overview of this next BWC dividend, please click here.
