Medical provider networks in workers’ compensation deliver broad benefits across nearly every measure of claim performance, from medical payments and return-to-work timelines to litigation expenses, according to research by the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute.

The study, which examined more than seven days of lost-time claims from 34 states with experience through March 2024, estimated that networks lower medical payments by 27% — roughly $3,500 per claim at 12 months of maturity — while also shifting the mix of services toward more conservative care and away from surgeries and pain management injections.

Read the full article in Risk & Insurance here.  The WCRI report they're reviewing is Impact of Networks on Claim Outcomes.  Visit its page on our website for more information, including details on how to download a copy!