Cambridge, MA – The economic and regulatory factors impacting the average total cost per workers’ compensation claim in 18 states are examined in a series of just-published Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) studies.
WCRI’s 2018 CompScope™ Benchmarks, 18th Edition studies analyze workers’ compensation claims data over a period of years and examine trends in the average total cost per workers’ compensation claim and the components in a given state.
“The CompScope™ studies provide insights for state policymakers into how indemnity benefits, medical payments, and benefit delivery expenses are impacting the average total cost per workers’ compensation claim,” said Ramona Tanabe, WCRI’s executive vice president and counsel.
Among the findings from the latest CompScope™ studies are these results for three states that enacted workers’ compensation reform legislation in recent years:
- California has seen its average total cost per workers’ compensation claim remain stable after the 2013 reform legislation went into effect, and indemnity benefits per claim increased while medical payments per claim decreased.
- Indiana had medical payments per claim stabilizing after having grown substantially before legislative reforms took effect.
- Tennessee saw its average total cost per workers’ compensation claim decrease by 6 percent in 2015, driven by a 24 percent reduction in permanent partial disability and lump-sum benefit payments.
Other highlights included:
- Virginia recently implemented a medical fee schedule for workers’ compensation claims. The schedule took effect on January 1, 2018, and came after the average total cost per workers’ compensation claim in Virginia increased 4.8 percent per year from 2011 to 2016, as reported in the CompScope™ study for Virginia.
- Louisiana was another state where the average total cost per workers’ compensation claim grew at a pace faster than in many other states.
- The CompScope™ study for Florida indicates that the growth in the average total cost per workers’ compensation claim has been moderate from 2011 to 2016, but notes its workers’ compensation system could face challenges in the wake of two 2016 state Supreme Court decisions that declared unconstitutional recent state laws governing Florida’s workers’ compensation system.
- In Illinois, the average total cost per workers’ compensation claim has grown 1 to 3 percent annually since 2012, WCRI found.
In addition to the states mentioned above, WCRI also published studies for Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.
For more information about the states or to purchase copies, click here: WCRI: 2018 CompScope™ Benchmarks, 18th Edition
Source: WCRI