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Indiana Sees First in a Decade Decline in Medical Payments per Workers’ Comp Claim: WCRI

Medical payments per workers’ compensation claim in Indiana decreased from 2014 to 2015 for the first time in more than a decade, according to a recent study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI).

The study, CompScope Medical Benchmarks for Indiana, 18th Edition, examined medical payments per claim, prices, and utilization, comparing Indiana with 17 other states.

The study’s findings for Indiana include:

• Medical payments per claim decreased 10 percent from 2014 to 2015, a larger decrease than in any other state studied.
• The decrease was driven by reduced payments per claim for hospital care, reflecting the adoption of a hospital fee schedule in 2014.
• The decrease was partly offset by growth in prices and utilization of nonhospital care.
• Despite the recent decrease, medical payments per claim in Indiana were higher than the median of the 18 states studied.

Ramona Tanabe, WCRI’s executive vice president and counsel, said legislation enacted in 2013 and 2014 has impacted the workers’ comp system in Indiana. “In particular, House Enrolled Act 1320 addressed hospital costs, which were a key driver of higher-than-typical medical payments in Indiana. The legislation enacted a hospital fee schedule with reimbursement set at 200 percent of Medicare,” Tanabe said in WCRI’s announcement.

The Cambridge-based WCRI is recognized as a leader in providing high-quality, objective information about public policy issues involving workers’ compensation systems.

Source: WCRI