Today’s issue of WorkCompRecap features the release of a new study from WCRI that examines how payments for care provided by physicians to injured workers changed after hospitals and health systems acquired physician practices. The research is the first to focus on the effect of vertical integration in workers’ comp and raises concerns regarding the potential increase in medical care payments without corresponding improvements in patient outcomes.
Key findings of the study included a notable increase in the percentage of physicians practicing at sites owned by hospitals or health systems between 2012 and 2018, and an 8% (avg $29) increase in the average payment per procedure due to vertical integration. The effects of vertical integration were also found to be more significant in states without fixed-amount fee schedule regulations, resulting in a $91 increase in the average payment per procedure.