Oakland, CA – The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) released Medical Service Cost Trends through 2025, examining the factors shaping medical cost growth in California’s workers’ compensation system.
Medical service costs increased moderately in 2025, while several emerging trends influenced costs across the system: accelerating growth in certain services not subject to fee schedule reimbursement limits, increasing costs associated with cumulative trauma (CT) claims and significant regional differences in medical spending patterns. The report also examines how trends vary across major medical service categories.
Among the findings:
- Medical service costs increased 5 percent in 2025, reflecting growth in both average payments and utilization.
- Medical-Legal services and Medical Equipment and Other Services were the largest contributors to medical cost growth, with CT claims playing a significant role in both categories.
- Services not subject to fee schedule price caps have become an increasingly significant source of cost growth in recent years.
- Southern California continued to drive statewide medical cost trends, with medical costs per claim increasing faster than in Northern California.
Read the free report: CA WCIRB: Medical Service Cost Trends through 2025
WCIRB Research Forum Webinar
Gain additional context behind the report’s findings and learn what is driving recent medical cost trends across California’s workers’ compensation system. Wednesday, September 23, 2026 | 10:00 AM PT
WCIRB Data Analytics Presenters:
- Julia Zhang, PhD, Vice President
- Tiffany Ren, Senior Data Analyst
- Yongwen Yang, Data Analyst
Register here: CA WCIRB: Behind the Numbers: Medical Cost Trends through 2025
A recording will be available on the Webinars and On-Demand Videos page after the event.
Source: CA WCIRB