Get the QCARE Designation for Your Texas Injury Benefit Program.

Are you one of the thousands of Texas employers who have an injury benefit program for your employees?

Learn more:

What is QCARE?

QCARE (Qualified Compensation Alternative for Recovering Employees) is a simple, no-cost, online designation to recognize employers with a responsible Texas injury benefit program that satisfies high industry standards.

QCARE was created by ARAWC (Association for Responsible Alternatives to Workers’ Compensation), an organization dedicated to better medical outcomes and improved benefits for injured workers, and cost savings for employers.

Ten requirements emphasize legal compliance, fairness in benefit delivery, insurance protections, and professional claims administration.

What Does QCARE Achieve?

Covers More Texas Employees

QCARE guides employers and insurance agents to help ensure all Texas employees have on-the-job injury protection through either workers’ compensation or a designated responsible injury benefit program.

Promotes Clarity

Building upon common goals and extensive industry dialogue, as well as recent program improvements, QCARE defines “responsible nonsubscription” from traditional Texas workers’ compensation.

Raises the Bar

The designation promotes fairness in injury reporting and benefits coverage, and will increase compliance with Texas notice laws and federal notice, due process and anti-retaliation laws.

Other Key Advantages

The designation delivers distinct advantages for employees, employers & insurance agents without adding more complexity through new laws, licenses or regulations.

View the ARAWC Innovation Series for more details on our goals.

Frequently Asked Questions / Q&A

What is the “Texas Model” of workers’ compensation?

Texas employers can now:

Opt-in to Workers’ Compensation – Texas innovation and competition has created one of the best-performing workers’ compensation systems in America.
Opt-in to QCARE – A responsible Texas injury benefit program that delivers better medical outcomes, improved benefits and cost savings, and meets 10 essential standards to earn the QCARE designation.
Opt-Out – May not meet industry standards for the designation or provide any injury benefits.

Where can I find studies and reports on Texas injury benefit programs?

See these Articles & Reports.

What are ARAWC goals?

The Association for Responsible Alternatives to Workers’ Compensation has five goals, all detailed in videos and articles in the “Innovation Series” on this ARAWC website:

What are QCARE goals?

a. Expand coverage to more Texas workers that have no injury benefits. 95% of all Texas employees are eligible for benefits under either traditional workers’ compensation or an injury benefit program. But some employers are still not taking care of their employees. On-the-job injuries are a natural cost of labor, so medical coverage, wage replacement, and other injury benefits should be provided by employers, at no cost, to all employees. Also, every worker should ask themselves, “Would I work first, then ask to get paid?” Of course not. So why go to work, end up getting hurt, and then ask your boss, “who is going to take care of me?” From the time of hire, Texas employees deserve to know and understand their rights if they get hurt at work.

b. Know who cares. QCARE raises the bar and identifies the most responsible employers. QCARE distinguishes the “bad actors” from the “good guys” who provide quality injury benefits for their employees. All Texas employers should meet the QCARE standards or provide workers’ compensation insurance coverage.

c. Simple injury outcomes. Workers’ comp can be complicated when someone gets hurt at work and there is a benefits claim or dispute. On the other hand, Texas injury benefit programs have a 30-year track of simply working well for injured Texas employees, their families and employers. QCARE supports the delivery of injury benefits that are easy to understand, not delayed with a lot of red tape, often provide better wage replacement, support access to the best medical providers in the state, and respect the employee’s legal rights to sue for injury benefits, as well as any employer negligence.

Is QCARE just for big companies?

The vast majority of companies that do not provide Texas workers’ compensation insurance are small employers. Here’s the percentage of companies – based on employment size – that elect to not be covered by Texas workers’ compensation:

1-4 Employees	36%
5-9 Employees	27%
10-49 Employees	16%
50-99 Employees	10%
100-499 Employees	10%
500+ Employees	20%

What the Industry is Saying...

"All employers should have an injury benefit plan in place. The results on faster return to work, better medical outcomes, and lower costs speak for themselves."

Join thousands of responsible employers across Texas.

…or apply for your designation now.