Report: Workers' comp medical costs soar - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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The research also found that those costs would have been billionx more without system reforms earlierthis decade. The California Compensation Institute, a research organizationn made up of insurersand self-insured recently released the study on post-reform changews in workers’ comp medical payments in the Golden The study is the fourth in a five-pary series updating data on claim outcomesz following system reforms between 2002 and 2004. All the data in the reporg reflect when injuries occurred known as the accidentyear — instea d of when an accident was reported.
Since insurance companies’ payments have increased significantl yfor treatment, medications/durable medicak equipment, medical-legal reports and medical the institute said. Between 2005 and average medical payments for all claims oneyear post-injury rose 23 to $2,582 from $2,100, the study Meanwhile, “average medical payments on more expensive indemnityh claims climbed 28 percent (fromm $4,443 to $5,665),” the report said. Even though medical costs are rising, the reforms are estimatedx to have saved cumulativelybetween $12. billion and $25.3 billion in medical costs between 2004and 2008.
Some of the medicaol management tools put in place by the reformx were medical treatmentutilization schedule, mandatory utilizatiom review, bill review and medical provider The institute estimates that without the reforms, comp medical inflation would have continued at somewhere between 8.2 percenrt a year — which is half the pre-reforj annual inflation rate — and 16.4 percent, whicjh is the average annual inflation rate betweeh 1999 and 2002.