Vernon County earns $2,221 in form of dividend credits

By Steve Moyer

Nevada Daily Mail

Vernon County has received a $2,221 dividend return from the Missouri Association of Counties, a statewide local government organization located in Jefferson City.

MAC operates a Self-Insured Workers' Compensation Fund which counts 93 counties and 11 related agencies among its members. The dividends, received in the form of credits against their 2004 premiums, were recognized at the association's spring Legislative Conference in Jefferson City. Seventy-six percent of Missouri's counties shared in the dividend return which totaled $600,000.

The fund, which Vernon County joined the first year, was created in 1987 to provide a service for the needs of counties that would save money on premiums, compared to the cost for similar workers' compensation coverage on the commercial market. The workers' comp pool has been influenced by the growing cost of medical care and disability awards in recent years, but officials say the fund has sufficient reserves to help it remain stable.

"This is the 12th year our fund has been able to return profits to the counties who belong to our self-insured pool," Insurance Board Chairman and Cape Girardeau County Clerk Rodney Miller said. "The key is that the counties' dollars reserved to pay claims are sitting in their account. What is generally a profit incentive for an insurance company is now a savings for the counties who belong to the pool."

"Emphasis on loss prevention, good safety programs, conscientious county officials taking an interest in their insurance pool -- all of these things led to several exceptional years, so much so that to date we have been able to return almost $6.5 million in taxpayer dollars," Miller said.

In addition to the dividend returns counties also received returns for certified safety program awards and no claims awards. This year those returns totaled $58,448.

To earn the certified safety program and no claims awards counties are expected to pay close attention to such things as establishing a relationship with a designated physician and hospital, working with an injured employee to implement a modified return-to-work program, calling an accident victim on a weekly basis to get a progress report on his health, and curtailing future exposure to a situation which caused an accident in the first place.

"What's so significant about this program is the emphasis on safety and loss prevention," Couch said. "It's our way of showing that we care for the well-being of our employees, not to mention the tax dollars that pay for it."