Florida medical payments per comp claim stabilize

Medical payments per workers compensation claim in Florida remained stable in 2015 following moderate growth from 2010 through 2014, according to a study released Tuesday by the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Workers Compensation Research Institute.

The study examined medical payments, prices and utilization in Florida from 2010 through 2015.

In 2015, changes made to the medical fee schedule took effect, including most outpatient services changing from a method based on percent of charge to a fixed-amount method. The per diem rate and stop-loss threshold for the reimbursement of hospital impatient services increased, WCRI said.

Hospital outpatient payments per services decreased 3% in 2015, possibly due to the hospital outpatient fee schedule change, according to the WCRI study. Hospital inpatient payments per episode grew 13% in 2015 after the inpatient fee schedule update. Ambulatory surgery center facility payment per claim increased 6% per year from 2010 to 2015, according to the study.