About Our Program

Financial and non-financial incentives encourage more providers to participate in best practice programs and adopt more of the best practices. We know that implementation of occupational health best practices reduces worker disability, improves worker outcomes, and gets workers back to work as soon as medically possible. L&I has developed a variety of best practice programs to support providers during the workers' treatment. Caring for a worker requires the attending provider to consider a variety of additional factors:

  • The worker's job role and physical requirements,
  • Understanding the role, goals, and limitations of workers' compensation coverage; and 
  • Engaging with the employer to ensure that modified duty is within the workers' capacity and assists their recovery.

We're paying providers who do the right thing for workers

To support the increase of providers' participation and adoption of occupational health best practices, L&I regularly reviews and updates the financial and non-financial incentives offered to providers and health care organizations.

For COHE:

  • The pilot duration was from January 2025 through December 2025.
  • The receipt of financial incentives for the pilot concluded June 30, 2026.
  • The purpose fo the pilot with COHE was to understand better how performance related incentives influenced adoption level of best practices.
  • We are conducting an evaluation of the effectiveness of this approach. The evaluation results will assist the Department in the future to determine how we will use (or what approach to use) incentives in the future.

For SQC Program:

  • Informational reporting will be completed September 2026 for surgeons who transitioned from the Ortho-Neuro Project to the SQC Program.
  • The incentive evaluation period begins October 2026 and will run for one year. The anticipated report out should be ready by mid-2028.

Gathering feedback is part of our evaluation process. Please reach out to the team at ProviderIncentives@Lni.wa.gov with your comments and suggestions.

To understand the specific local codes being piloted and the amounts being paid, refer to the Pilot's Special Fee Schedule.  

You can learn more about each program by visiting their web pages:

Providers

Providers may bill for dates of services up to June 30, 2026. Refer to our Pilot's Special Fee Schedule.

We thank the following COHEs, clinics, and providers for participating in the pilot and helping us with this research. Your feedback has been invaluable.

COHE at UW Valley Medical Center of Puget Sound:

  • The Work Clinic
  • UW Valley Medical Center Occupational Medicine

COHE Alliance of Western Washington:

  • ErgoCare Clinic
  • Folweiler Chiropractic
  • Multicare Occupational Medicine
  • Options Consulting
  • Occupational Medicine Clinic of Tacoma
  • Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Urgent Care
  • William Marson, DC (Northwest Return to Work)

COHE Community with Providence

  • Goodworks Occupational Medicine
  • Multicare Occupational Medicine
  • PNW Occupational Medicine
  • Providence Occupational Medicine
  • The Healthy Worker
  • Yakima Occupational Medicine

COHE of Central Washington

  • Northwest Medical Group

Provider Incentives Frequently Asked Questions

    How do these pilots help workers?

    More best practice adoption means better care for workers and better communication with employers:

    • L&I pioneered best practice pilots with the creation of the COHE program, which has helped reduce long term disability for ill and injured workers.
    • Using what we've learned in previous pilots, and guided by research and data, we're ready to pilot additional best practice programs that will continue to reduce worker disability.
     How can an employer tell if a provider is participating in the pilots?

    SQCP provider incentives are part of MARFS (Chapter 22).

     Why is L&I conducting these pilots?

    To evaluate if these provider incentives improve care for workers.  In addition, we hope that provider incentives encourage more providers to participate in best practice programs and adopt more best practices.

     Why are the provider incentive pilots all at different times?

    Each of the best practice programs have a different schedule and the incentives pilot aligns with this overall schedule. 

       Why are the incentives different for each pilot?

      The financial incentives are aligned to the specific best practice program for which they were designed.  

       What if I have more questions?

      Please send an email to the contact information listed at the bottom of this web page.