Today’s issue of WorkCompRecap features WCRI’s release of a new edition of its CompScope Medical Benchmarks set of studies that found medical payments per claim decreased more than 3% in half the 18 study states for 2020 injuries with experience through March 2021.
WCRI noted that these decreases were likely reflective of factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as over the earlier period from 2015 to 2019, medical payments per claim were stable or grew moderately across the study states. Other key findings from study states included that medical payments per claim in Florida decreased 5% in 2020/2021 for non-COVID-19 claims, mainly driven by a decrease in utilization of medical services, following 4–5% per year growth from 2015 to 2019. Medical payments per claim in Indiana decreased 14% in 2020/2021 for non-COVID-19 claims after growing 11% in 2019. WCRI noted that the data provide a look at how the pandemic may have impacted non-COVID-19 claims in its early months.