This study can help policymakers and other stakeholders in the workers’ compensation system to identify cost drivers and emerging trends in payments and utilization of medical services among nonhospital and hospital providers. In this report, we examine medical payments, prices, and utilization in California and compare them with 17 other states.

The study also examines how these metrics of medical costs and care have changed, mainly from 2015 to 2020, for claims at an average of 12 months of experience. We analyze claims with experience through 2021 for injuries up to and including 2020. In some cases, we use a longer time frame to supply historical context for key metrics.

The results we report reflect experience on claims through March 2021, including non-COVID-19 claims only from the early pandemic period (March–September 2020). The study, therefore, provides a look at how the pandemic may have impacted non-COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims in the early months of the pandemic. 

California also implemented several policy changes in recent years. The drug formulary required by Assembly Bill (AB) 1124 became effective in January 2018. Two fraud-fighting measures, AB 1244 and Senate Bill (SB) 1160, were enacted in January 2017. Finally, SB 863, a comprehensive piece of reform legislation, went into effect in January 2013. In addition, during the analysis period of this study, California went through multiple medical fee schedule updates for hospital outpatient department and ambulatory surgery center (ASC) services, and nonhospital professional services. These regulatory changes are also potential factors influencing the results discussed in this report.

CompScope™ Medical Benchmarks for California, 23rd Edition. William Monnin-Browder. October 2022. WC-22-27.