Today’s issue of WorkCompRecap features the recent release of a CWCI study that found that the average amounts paid for California workers’ comp medical expenses and indemnity benefits have risen sharply since the first year after the 2004 reforms (AY 2005). The study was based on data from 1.9 million claims from AY 2002 through Q3 AY 2012, and confirms earlier studies which showed average medical payments declined briefly after the 2002-04 legislative reforms were enacted, but then began to bounce back.
CWCI did also note a positive signal that medical inflation may be abating, as initial data from AY 2011 and 2012 claims showed slight decreases in the average amounts insurers pay for medical services in the earlier stages of a claim.
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