Oregon’s Largest Hospital System Continues to Deny Workers’ COVID-19 Staff’ Compensation Claims

Last week, Providence Health & Services, the state’s largest hospital group, was on alert over the state’s soaring coronavirus case numbers. “We are facing an unprecedented increase in COVID-19 patients,” Providence executives told staff in an email received by The Oregonian.

However, as Providence adjusts for the recovery, it remains in a battle with its own employees over whether they should be owed compensation for exposure to the virus at work.

“As the pandemic worsened, providence worsened,” said Kevin Mealy, spokesman for the Oregon Nurses Association, whose union represents the Nurses of Providence. “They don’t protect their frontline providers.”

All of the nearly 2 million Oregon workers are covered by workers’ compensation insurance. (All employers are required to take out insurance for their employees or to insure themselves.) About 20% of these employees work in the healthcare sector.

However, the state numbers continue to show a phenomenon that WW first reported on in July: a disproportionate proportion of all denied non-disabled employee compensation claims related to COVID-19 come from Providence Health & Services, which is self-insured. (The state defines a “non-deactivating” claim as one for which the applicant needs medical care but which is unlikely to be permanently affected.)

Providence denied 90 such claims across the country this year. No other employer has contested half that number.

Providence spokesman Gary Walker says the hospital chain complies with government employee compensation laws and welcomes employee claims. But Walker says out of the 90 refusals that only one person actually tested positive for COVID-19, and that was workplace exposure.

“Exposure just means someone is claiming exposure and not that they have tested positive or actually contracted COVID-19,” Walker said in an email. “If someone tests negative or is not symptomatic, there is really nothing to accept for medical or disability benefits.”

In other words, Walker says, Providence employees are seeking employee compensation that they are not entitled to. Mealy says he is confused that Providence remains an “outlier”.

“Nurses have been demanding basic health and safety measures for months,” he says. “This includes adequate PPE, exposure notification, access to testing, COVID-19 sick leave and alleged employee compensation claims. It’s time for Providence to prove they care about their caregivers.”

In at least 14 states, including Washington and Wyoming, according to the National Council of State Legislatures, workers who say they have received COVID-19 in the course of their work are assumed to have been infected at work and automatically by the Employee compensation are covered. In Oregon, the state body that advises the Legislature and Governor Kate Brown on compensation issues was stalled this summer on whether to provide for “alleged reporting”.

Governor Brown and Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem) declined to comment, but House spokeswoman Tina Kotek said she was frustrated with the state’s failure to protect frontline workers and would press for legislation next year.

“Spokeswoman Kotek supports a worker’s compensation scheme presumption that provides basic protection and security to workers who are essential to sustainable economic recovery,” said spokesman Danny Moran.

Here are the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services stats for denied non-deactivating claims for COVID-19 for all insurers through November 30th. The state does not track how many non-deactivating non-life insurers have been accepted.