Today’s issue of WorkCompRecap features the release of another edition of WCRI’s CompScope Benchmarks, which examined the Minnesota system and found that duration of temporary disability (TD) benefits per claim increased nearly one week in 2020 for non-COVID-19 claims, a key driver of the increase in indemnity benefits per claim for the year.
Key findings included that both claims with TD benefits and claims with permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits and/or lump-sum settlement payments in the state had increases of about one week in the average duration of TD benefits in 2020. Most study states, including Minnesota, experienced an increase in TD duration in 2020, which may have been affected by the economic slowdown during the pandemic. WCRI also noted that 2020/2021, total costs per claim in MN increased 3.6% for non-COVID-19 claims with more than seven days of lost time, as a result of a large increase in indemnity benefits per claim offsetting a decrease in medical payments per claim and stability in benefit delivery expenses.