The 20th edition of this report helps Texas policymakers and other system stakeholders identify current cost drivers and emerging trends in a wide variety of workers’ compensation system performance measures. It also provides an excellent baseline for tracking the effectiveness of policy changes and monitoring important trends, such as the impact of COVID-19. The study compares the performance of the Texas workers’ compensation system with 17 other states, focusing on

• income benefits,
• costs,
• overall medical payments,
• use of benefits,
• duration of temporary disability,
• benefit delivery expenses,
• timeliness of payments, and
• other metrics.

The study examines how these system performance metrics have changed, mainly from 2013 to 2018, for claims at various claim maturities. Claims with experience through March 2019 for injuries up to and including 2018 were analyzed. In some cases, a longer time frame was used to supply historical context for key metrics.

We expect minimal residual impact from House Bill (HB) 7 on current trends. In the “Discussion of Major Findings” section of this report, we examine changes after legislative action for key metrics, particularly the impact of HB 7 (implementation mainly in 2005 to 2011) on cost drivers and trends.

CompScope™ Benchmarks for Texas, 20th Edition. Carol A. Telles. April 2020. WC-20-13.

Copyright: WCRI