This study can help policymakers and other stakeholders identify current cost drivers and emerging trends in payments, prices, and utilization of medical services among nonhospital and hospital providers in the Wisconsin workers’ compensation system.

It shows how Wisconsin’s medical payments per claim and their cost components compared with 17 other states (Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia).

Workers’ compensation medical costs have been a topic of ongoing interest to Wisconsin policymakers and stakeholders, and they have been the focus of considerable debate by the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council and the state legislature. At the center of debate has been whether policymakers should take steps to regulate medical prices, and if so, how, and with what consequences for the Wisconsin system with respect to access to care, return to work, and other outcomes.

This study covers the period of 2011 to 2016, with claims experience through 2017. Where relevant, findings from other WCRI studies are added to provide a more complete picture of the system.

CompScope™ Medical Benchmarks for Wisconsin, 19th Edition. Sharon E. Belton. October 2018. WC-18-39.