WCRI Releases New Version of Medical Worth Index for Employees’ Compensation

WCRI publishes new edition of the medical price index for employees? compensation

• 05/19/21
• WorkersCompensation.com

Cambridge, MA (WorkersCompensation.com) – The Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) has released an updated version of its study comparing prices paid for medical services in 36 states and monitoring price changes from 2008 through 2020, including the initial months the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The study shows how the prices paid for these services are compared between states, how prices have changed, and whether price growth is part of a broader phenomenon or applies only to one state. The study also discusses price comparison results and price developments in relation to the main policy mechanism that regulates prices – fee plans, ”said Ramona Tanabe, WCRI Executive Vice President and Counsel.

The study, WCRI Medical Price Index for Workers’ Compensation, 13th Edition (MPI-WC), focuses on professional services (assessment and management, physical medicine, surgery, major and minor radiology, neurological tests, pain management injections, and emergency care). billed by doctors, physical therapists and chiropractors. The results of the study include:

• Prices for similar professional services varied greatly between states, ranging from 29 percent below the median of 36 states in Florida to 167 percent above the median of 36 states in Wisconsin in 2020.
• In countries without a fee schedule for professional services, higher prices were paid than in countries with a fee schedule – 44 to 179 percent higher than the median of the study states with a fee schedule in 2020.
• Most of the states without fee plans saw faster price increases for professional services compared to states with fee plans – the median growth rate among the states without fee plans was 37 percent from 2008 to 2020, compared to the median growth rate of 9 percent among the fee scale states.
• Eight study states (Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia) had material changes (that is, an increase or decrease of 10 percent or more) in the total prices paid after material changes in the fee schedule during the year the study period.

This edition covers 36 states, which make up 88 percent of the United States’ employee compensation benefits. These 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 Mexico, 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. To download a FREE copy of this report, visit WCRI’s website at https://www.wcrinet.org/reports/wcri-medical-price-index-for-workers-compensation-13th-edition-mpi-wc.

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