WISCONSIN WORKERS’ COMPENSATION MEDICAL COSTS PER CLAIM ROSE AT A DOUBLE DIGIT RATE, SAYS NEW WCRI STUDY

Overall Workers’ Comp Medical Payments per Claim Remain Low

CAMBRIDGE, MA, June 29, 2007 – The average medical payment per claim to injured workers in Wisconsin continued to grow at a double-digit rate due to
rapidly rising prices paid to providers for both hospital and non-hospital services, according to a new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute
(WCRI).

In particular, prices for nonhospital services were the highest and growing fastest among the states in the study – 71 percent higher than the median.

The study of 13 states representing more than 50 percent of the nation’s workers’ compensation benefits also found that prices paid were more than double the median study state for major surgeries and more than 50 percent higher for most other services. 

Average prices paid for hospital outpatient services were 21 percent higher than other study states for most services – the third highest ranking of the states studied. 

Overall, the average medical payment per claim in Wisconsin was 16 percent lower than the 13-state median.  This was due to less utilization of medical services.

The study also found that fewer claims involved specialty services in Wisconsin compared with the other states, and when services were involved, there were fewer visits per claim. 

The rapid increase in medical payment per claim was largely the result of rising prices paid for providers of both hospital and nonhospital services, the report said. Unlike many states, utilization of medical services was generally stable. 

The study noted that chiropractors were involved in more claims than in the median study state, while physical/occupational therapists were involved in fewer claims than typical. 

The data in the reference work, The Anatomy of Workers’ Compensation Medical Costs and Utilization in Wisconsin, 6^th Edition, identifies where workers’ compensation medical dollars go and how costs and utilization differ across 13 large states. 

In addition to Wisconsin, the other states in the study conducted by the Cambridge, Mass.-based WCRI were Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas. 

To purchase the report, visit WCRI’s web site at www.wcrinet.org.