WCRI's New Compscope Studies Show Impact Of Recession And Reforms In 16 State Workers' Comp Systems

Cambridge, MA (WorkersCompensation.com) - The impact of the recession, legislative and regulatory reforms and the growing costs of medical care on workers' compensation system performance are among the key developments addressed in the latest edition of the Workers Compensation Research Institute's (WCRI) CompScope™ reports.

The studies, CompScope™ Benchmarks, 13th Edition, compare the performance of 16 different state workers' compensation systems and how these states have performed over time. The reports are designed to help policymakers and others benchmark state system performance. The benchmarks also provide an excellent baseline for tracking the effectiveness of policy changes and identifying important trends.

The 16 states in this edition—California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin—represent nearly 60 percent of the nation's workers' compensation benefit payments.

Among key findings:

• Workers' compensation costs per claim were declining in Texas after several years of growth

• Medical costs per claim for injured workers in Virginia were higher than most states

• Costs of workers' compensation claims rising in Indiana, as payments for medical care increase

• The average costs of workers' compensation claims declined in Massachusetts as the state recovered from the recession

· The reports present measures in several areas, including time from injury to payor notice of injury and first indemnity payment; average total cost per claim, average payment per claim for medical benefits, and average payments per claim for indemnity benefits and components (temporary disability benefits, permanent partial disability benefits, and lump-sum settlements); vocational rehabilitation use and costs; benefit delivery expenses per claim and defense attorney involvement and duration of temporary disability.

For more information about these studies or how to purchase them, click on the following link: For more information about these studies or how to purchase them, click on the following link: http://www.wcrinet.org/result/Bmcscope_multi13_all_result.html.

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