Indiana workers comp claims higher, growing faster than similar states: Study
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Workers compensation medical payments in Indiana are costlier and growing at a faster rate than medical claim payments in comparable states, the Workers Compensation Research Institute said this week.
Average medical payments per claim with more than seven days of lost time grew an average of 8% in Indiana from 2006 to 2012, according to a report Monday by the Cambridge, Mass.-based WCRI. That's compared with payment growth of roughly 7% for Louisiana, Wisconsin and Arkansas, and an average increase of nearly 3% for Florida — the state with the lowest average payment increases among 16 studied by WCRI.
Meanwhile, prices for workers comp-related hospital services in Indiana were also higher than in similar states, WCRI said. For instance, the average hospital payment per inpatient episode from 2010 to 2012 was $34,671 in Indiana, 19% higher than the median average inpatient hospital payment among the 16 states studied.
WCRI attributed much of Indiana's payment increases and high costs to a lack of price regulations for workers comp medical treatment in the state.
The institute noted that HEA 1320, a workers comp reform bill passed in Indiana last year, could limit future price increases. The legislation enacted a first-time hospital fee schedule that sets reimbursement at 200% of Medicare prices for medical services, effective July 1.
