The factors behind trends in medical payments per claim in 18 state workers’ compensation systems and the impact of legislative and regulatory changes on those costs are examined in this 2025 edition of CompScope™ Medical Benchmarks.

The studies examine trends in payments, prices, and utilization of medical care for workers with injuries. They provide analyses of recent costs and trends for policymakers and other system stakeholders, reporting how medical payments per claim and their components vary over time and from state to state. The studies cover the period from 2018 through 2023, with claims experience through March 2024.

The 18 study states—Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin—account for about 60 percent of workers’ compensation benefit payments nationwide.

The studies also provide an overview of how recent system changes, shifts in the composition of workers’ compensation claims, and external factors—such as the economy, inflation, and medical care—have likely affected medical payments and treatment since 2018. Some of these changes were prompted or accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The results reflect experience with non-COVID-19 claims.

CompScope™ Medical Benchmarks, 2025 Edition. Terence Cawley, Roman Dolinschi, William Monnin-Browder, Evelina Radeva, Karen Rothkin, Bogdan Savych, Carol A. Telles, and Rebecca Yang. October 2025. WC-25-27 to WC-25-39.

Video: