Illinois medical payments for comp claims 24% higher than other states

Medical payments per workers compensation claim were 24% higher in Illinois than the median for other states examined in a new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute.

Medical payments per comp claim in Illinois grew 3.1% per year on average from 2012 through 2015, according to the study released Thursday by the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based institute.

The study examined medical payments, prices and utilization in Illinois compared with 17 other states and found that medical payments in Illinois were higher due to prices and utilization of services by nonhospital providers, according to the study.

Physical medicine such as chiropractic visits was a key driver of higher than typical medical utilization, accounting for more visits per claim and services per visit in Illinois than in the other states studied. The number of visits per claim was 26 in Illinois compared to a median of 20 visits for the other states, according to the study.

“Recent public policy discussions in Illinois have focused on reducing workers compensation costs and making the state more attractive to businesses,” Ramona Tanabe, Boston-based executive vice president and counsel for WCRI, said in a statement. “Among the areas of interest are causation of the injury, medical fee schedules, insurance premiums and permanent partial disability benefits.”