State medical benefits for victims of domestic violence and other crimes are going up on July 1.
The Labor & Industries Crime Victims Compensation Program will increase available medical benefits from $50,000 to $150,000. The change means the total available for physical and mental health bills, burial reimbursement and time loss from work could be as much as $190,000.
Barbara Holland, an Olympia resident who survived a domestic violence incident says the increase will help more people and make a real difference.
“Thank God for crime victim compensation,” said Holland. “Without it, I would have personally been responsible for $35,000 in medical expenses – instead, it was zero.”
L&I is announcing the improved benefits in conjunction with National Crime Victims’ Rights Week which runs April 19 through April 25. This year’s theme is “Engaging Communities, Empowering Victims.”
The compensation program pays medical bills, time loss and disability awards and reimburses burial expenses after all coverage has been exhausted. It also covers payment for sexual assault exams. There are eligibility requirements, including cooperating with the investigation.
For Holland, empowerment came after the April 2009 case when she was kidnapped and beaten by her ex-boyfriend, suffering life-threatening injuries. She at first tried to minimize the injuries because of threats and because she had no insurance to pay the bills. Now she speaks on behalf of victims and advocates for needed services and produced a video, “One Voice.”
“It took me a little while to cooperate (with law enforcement) because I was so traumatized,” she said. “The great thing about the Crime Victims Compensation Program is you have up to a year to file for benefits.”
Holland credited L&I Crime Victims Adjudicator Kim Vincent with helping her access the program. Vincent has been with the program since 1987.
“A lot of victims are so traumatized they don’t get help, but we can at least make it easier for them,” said Vincent, whose own workload is about 250 cases annually. “The majority of cases are domestic violence and sexual abuse.”
Figures from the just completed fiscal year 2014 back up the observation. Assaults make up more than 60 percent of the 5,958 cases the program handled. Nearly two-thirds of the cases, 61.1 percent, are processed within 21 days. More than $9 million is available in state and federal funds this year to assist victims.
To contact the program, call toll free 1-800-762-3716 or go online to www.CrimeVictims.LNI.wa.gov.
The program started in 1973 when the Legislature deemed it was important for crime victims to have ways for medical bills and other costs to be covered. L&I operates the program because of the large network of physicians who work with the agency, as well as extensive experience working with workers’ compensation cases.
“It’s so rewarding to see someone like Barbara, or any victim, and take at least a little of the hardship away,” said Vincent. “It’s rewarding to see someone progress and recover from the experience.”
