Austin, TX – Workers’ compensation networks certified by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) continued to show improvements in medical costs, return-to-work outcomes, and health outcomes in the latest annual report card published by TDI’s Workers’ Compensation Research and Evaluation Group (REG). Networks produced better return-to-work and health outcomes compared to non-network claims for the 2013 report card.
Non-network claims continued to have lower average medical costs than network claims. However, cost reductions in networks and cost increases in non-network claims narrowed the difference in medical costs between network and non-network claims to 4 percent in 2013 compared to a 31 percent difference in 2010.
TDI’s REG publishes the annual report card on the performance of Workers’ Compensation Health Care Networks as required under Chapter 1305, Texas Insurance Code.
The 2013 report card is the seventh to be published since TDI certified the initial networks in early 2006. Contained in the report card is a comparison of network and non-network claims on a variety of measures, including health care costs, utilization of care, satisfaction with care, access to care, return-to-work outcomes, and health outcomes. The report card also includes the performance of certain political subdivision networks authorized under Section 504.053, Texas Labor Code.
Data used to measure performance of the networks includes: workers’ compensation medical payment data collected by TDI for injuries that occurred between June 1, 2011 and May 31, 2012; results of a survey of these injured employees conducted by the University of North Texas Survey Research Center; and results from a February data call issued by TDI to 28 networks. Currently, certified Workers’ Compensation Health Care Networks offer services in all 254 Texas counties.
The network report card is posted on the agency website here: TDI-DWC Workers’ Compensation Health Care Network Report Card (PDF)
Source: TDI-DWC