Office of Workers’ 

Compensation Programs 

Division of Federal Employees’ 

Compensation

CHEP 2019
U.S. Department of Labor

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs 

Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation

Julia K. Hearthway 

Director

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs
U.S. Department of Labor

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs 

Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation

Initiatives and Results

• Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM)

• Anticipated resolution by end of year

• PBM Interim Results

• 90+ MED tailored treatment approach

• Expanding Program Integrity

• Convenience Kits saved $40,000,000+ and 

30,000 denials

• CBY 2018 vs. CBY 2019

• $45M saved in medical 

• $33.5M saved overall
U.S. Department of Labor

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs 

Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation

Our Population

Opioid Use by Injured Federal Workers

Approximately 17% of those receiving medical benefits are 

prescribed an opioid. Of those 17% who are prescribed an opioid, 

approximately:

• 46% are men and 54% are women 

• 70% are 55+ years old and 30% are under 55 years old

• 85% are prescribed 90 Morphine Equivalent Dose 

(MED)1 or less per day

• Almost 65% have been prescribed opioids for 2 years or 

longer

1The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautions prescribing opioids at any dose, but specifically states that a provider

should avoid or carefully justify increasing dosage to ≥90 morphine milligram equivalents (MME)/day. MME is a value assigned to a 

specific opioid to represent its relative potency. MED is the sum of the MME of all the opioids a patient is taking daily.
U.S. Department of Labor

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs 

Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation

OWCP has implemented a four-point strategic plan to 

combat the opioid epidemic and reduce the potential for 

opioid misuse and addiction among injured federal workers.

• Effective Controls – Instituted broad general controls followed 

by targeted controls.

• Tailored Treatment – Applied a compassionate, individualized 

treatment approach to every injured federal worker prescribed 

opioids.

• Impactful Communications – Issued communications using 

both general and targeted messaging.

• Aggressive Fraud Detection – Increased fraud and abuse 

detection efforts.

Strategic Plan

(https://www.dol.gov/owcp/dfec/opioidactionplan.htm)
U.S. Department of Labor

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs 

Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation
U.S. Department of Labor

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs 

Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation

• For all newly prescribed opioids, injured workers will 

have:

• 7-day limit on initial fill.

• 3 subsequent 7-day fills.

• Prior Authorization required after initial 28 days.

Fall 2019, New Opioid

Policy
U.S. Department of Labor

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs 

Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation

• OWCP Reorganization – December 2018

• DFEC Reorganization – October 2019

• Centralize essential functions under the National Office

• Fiscal Operations (1 Treasury Account)

• Disability Management (Nurses and Rehab)

• Customer Service (Centralized Phone Bank)

• Eliminates jurisdictional and geographic lines for workload 

distribution

Changing Organizational Structures

OWCP

DFEC DEEOIC DCMWC DLHWC
U.S. Department of Labor

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs 

Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation

Antonio Rios 

Director

Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation
U.S. Department of Labor

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs 

Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation

Initiatives and Results

• End to End Case Management • CA-1 in adjudication time

• CA-2 in adjudication time

• CA-7 in payment time

• Responsiveness on Correspondence (DMI + Tracked General)

7,470

11,685 12,570

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

2017 2018 2019

Average Inquiries per Month

21 19 17

0

5

10

15

20

25

2017 2018 2019

Average Days to Respond
U.S. Department of Labor

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs 

Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation

New Initiatives 

Newly Adopted Performance Management System

Established uniform performance standards for all claims 

examiners

 Consistent case management in all district offices

 Ongoing quality evaluations and audits for both managers 

and CEs 

 Centralized supervisor guidance to formalize structure and 

ensure consistency
U.S. Department of Labor

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs 

Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation

ECOMP UPDATES

• Deployment of updated 

ECOMP with enhanced service 

and platform 

• CE-LinQ, ECOMP’s Future 2-Way 

Communication System

COMING SOON!










U.S. Department of Labor

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs 

Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation

Medical Provider Network (MPN)

• Expands Claimant Access to Providers

• Claimants benefit from a physician who understands FECA’s 

requirements.

• An MPN provider will be familiar FECA’s bill payment procedures; 

no referrals to collection agencies, no wrongful requests for a copayment (precluded by law)

• Adjudication of claims may be expedited if the MPN-physician’s 

report reflects familiarity with - and proper completion of – all 

FECA-related forms.

• MPN services will be paid at a negotiated rate below FECA’s fee 

schedule, so the Government will benefit from the price 

discounts. Please note that this vision statement is not a procurement action or statement from a contracting officer, and does not represent the official positions of the Department on procurement or contract actions. For definitive 

statements on contract requirements, the evaluation and selection criteria for award of DOL contracts, and for information regarding DOL procurement actions, please visit www.fbo.gov 
U.S. Department of Labor

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs 

Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation

QUESTIONS