Medical costs for injured workers outpaced overall cost increases nationwide
Reprints
Increases in costs for medical visits under workers compensation slightly outpaced overall physician services cost increases reported nationwide since 2017, according to data released Monday by Enlyte LLC.
Enlyte, which provides services for injured workers, analyzed its medical bill review professional services data for trends in workers compensation payments from first quarter of 2017 through the end of the third quarter of 2023.
It found that physician charges per unit — or per procedure performed — increased by 11%, outpacing physician charges in the Bureau of Labor and Statistics Consumer Price Index increase of 8% during that same time period, according to the report.
Researchers noticed mixed trends for workers compensation medical payments in several “high volume” states, with New York trending the highest, a 12% increase spurred on by increases in fee schedule payments for injured workers. California saw costs rise 8% over that same time period, at par with overall physician costs increases for the country. Falling behind that figure, Florida saw a 7% increase in workers comp medical payments and Texas a 3% increase, according to the data.
