Cambridge, MA – In a recently released study, the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) found that medical payments per workers’ compensation claim in Illinois were lower than three of its neighboring states (Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin) but higher than the median study state.
“Compared with other Midwest states, medical payments per claim in Illinois were about 9 percent lower than those in Indiana and Iowa and 17 percent lower than those in Wisconsin, said Ramona Tanabe, president and CEO of WCRI. “Medical payments per claim in Illinois decreased by 3 percent per year between 2019 and 2021, the main driver being a decrease in utilization of medical services, likely due to the pandemic.”
The study, CompScope™ Medical Benchmarks for Illinois, 24th Edition, focuses on the payments, prices, and utilization of workers’ compensation medical care. It examines medical services in Illinois compared with 16 other states overall, by type of provider, and by type of medical service. The study also analyzes how various system performance metrics have changed over time from 2016 to 2021, with claims evaluated as of 2022. In some cases, it uses a longer time frame to supply historical context.
Other key findings included:
- Utilization decreased for many hospital outpatient or nonhospital services in Illinois, likely due to the pandemic.
- Prices for many types of professional services increased similarly to the annual changes in the medical fee schedule rates.
The results of the analysis reflect experience on claims through March 2022, including non-COVID-19 claims from the first and second years of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 through September 2021). The study, therefore, provides insights into how the pandemic likely impacted non-COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims in the first two years of the pandemic.
The report was authored by Evelina Radeva.
For more info or to purchase: WCRI: CompScope™ Medical Benchmarks for Illinois, 24th Edition.
Source: WCRI