As policymakers and system stakeholders in many states debate rising medical costs, the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) released a new study today that helps monitor changes in prices paid for medical professional services as well as the impact of fee schedule and network changes on price trends.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (PRWEB) June 14, 2018
As policymakers and system stakeholders in many states debate rising medical costs, the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) released a new study today that helps monitor changes in prices paid for medical professional services as well as the impact of fee schedule and network changes on price trends.
The study, WCRI Medical Price Index for Workers’ Compensation, 10th Edition (MPI-WC), compares medical prices paid in 35 states and tracks price changes in most states over a 10-year span from 2008 to 2017 for professional services billed by physicians, physical therapists, and chiropractors. The medical services fall into eight groups: evaluation and management, physical medicine, surgery, major radiology, minor radiology, neurological testing, pain management injections, and emergency care.
“If you are a policymaker or other stakeholder and want to understand how medical prices in workers’ compensation in your state compared with other states, or how prices in your state changed over time, you would benefit from this study,” said Ramona Tanabe, WCRI’s executive vice president and in-house counsel. “If you are in one of the many states that implemented fee schedule changes recently or are considering such changes in the future, this study shows how certain policy initiatives impact medical prices.”
The following is a sample of the study’s findings:
The 35 states included in the MPI-WC, which represent 87 percent of the workers' compensation benefits paid in the United States, are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
The authors of this study are Dr. Rebecca Yang and Dr. Olesya Fomenko. Click on the following link to download a FREE copy of this report: https://www.wcrinet.org/reports/wcri-medical-price-index-for-workers-compensation-10th-edition-mpi-wc.
The Cambridge-based WCRI is recognized as a leader in providing high-quality, objective information about public policy issues involving workers' compensation systems.
ABOUT WCRI:
The Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) is an independent, not-for-profit research organization based in Cambridge, MA. Organized in late 1983, the Institute does not take positions on the issues it researches; rather, it provides information obtained through studies and data collection efforts, which conform to recognized scientific methods. Objectivity is further ensured through rigorous, unbiased peer review procedures. WCRI's diverse membership includes employers; insurers; governmental entities; managed care companies; health care providers; insurance regulators; state labor organizations; and state administrative agencies in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.