WIS. COMP COSTS RISE 11%:

The average medical payment per claim to injured workers in Wisconsin continued to grow at a double-digit rate, according to a new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). The study of 12 states representing more than 50 percent of the nation’s workers’ compensation benefits also found that overall workers’ compensation medical costs in Wisconsin were typical of the states studied, even though injured workers there were away from work for a shorter period than workers in the other states. Medical payments per claim in Wisconsin have been increasing by more than 11 percent per year since 1999, the report said. The increase in medical payments per claim was largely due to increasing prices for care by medical providers and hospitals. In the case of physical medicine providers—physical and occupational therapists and chiropractors—the increase in medical payments per claim was due to increases in the number of visits per claim and services per visit.