Today’s issue of WorkCompRecap features the release of a new CWCI study that found after across-the-board declines in California inpatient hospitalizations during the COVID-19 heath crisis of 2020, the number of inpatient stays paid under Medicare, Medi-Cal, and private coverage all began to rebound in 2021, but the number of workers’ comp hospitalizations fell an additional 5.7%.
CWCI noted that the 2021 decline in workers’ comp hospitalizations brought the total over the prior decade to 48.1%, more than tripling the decline of of 15.0% for hospital stays paid under private coverage, while hospitalizations paid under Medicare were only down 5.2%. While the study indicates most workers’ comp hospital stays are for musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders (58-66%), COVID’s impact is evident in the recent data, as the percentage of injured worker inpatient stays for the treatment of diseases and disorders of the respiratory system nearly tripled from 2.6% in 2019 to 7.4% in 2020 and remained at an elevated level (7.0%) in 2021.