Waltham, MA, March 31, 2026— A new study from the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) finds that injured workers treated in networks receive care sooner, incur lower costs, and spend less time on temporary disability.

“The use of medical provider networks in workers’ compensation has grown steadily over the past twenty years, with much medical care going through networks nowadays,” said Sebastian Negrusa, vice president of research at WCRI. “This study shows how networks affect claim outcomes and offers helpful guidance for policymakers and others system stakeholders.”

The study, Impact of Networks on Claim Outcomes, examines:

  • What is the impact of networks on medical payments, access to care, and utilization of medical services?
  • How do networks affect other claim outcomes, such as duration of disability, indemnity benefit payments, and overall claim costs?
  • Are there differences in network effects in rural areas versus urban areas?
  • How do workers’ compensation policy choices influence the effectiveness of networks?

This study addresses these questions by matching in‑network and out‑of‑network claims with more than seven days of lost time to meaningfully compare them on a variety of outcome measures.

The 34 states included in the study are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The study by Drs. Olesya Fomenko and Rebecca Yang is free for WCRI members and available for purchase by nonmembers. Learn more or download a copy at www.wcrinet.org.