Today’s issue of WorkCompRecap features NCCI’s release of the first in a new series of reports on Inflation and Workers’ Compensation medical costs, which stakeholders indicate is one of the top-of-mind issues they’re facing.
The new report series will address the key components of medical cost drivers in four parts: general overall medical costs, facility services, physicians, and prescription drugs. In Part 1: Overall Medical, NCCI explores price and utilization trends in medical services, and how each contributes to workers comp costs in the four US geographic regions, along with state specific results. NCCI noted that medical inflation in workers’ comp has been moderate for the past decade, but recent dramatic rises in consumer prices have caused concerns to arise. NCCI’s most recent medical data shows that drug costs are declining, physician costs are up slightly, and facility costs are rising in the WC system -in recent years, facility services have been the dominant contributor to changes in WC medical costs across regions.