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The price of prescription drugs used in workers compensation cases grew at an annual rate of 3.7% average over a nine-year period, which was offset by a 6% decline in the volume of prescriptions, according to a research paper published Tuesday by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. Analyzing data from 2012 to 2021, NCCI also found that the average…

Studies released Thursday by the Workers Compensation Research Institute show how the adoption of drug formularies in five states affected workers compensation costs. The studies looked at the effect of formularies on prescription drug utilization and associated costs in the Arkansas, California, Indiana, Kentucky and New York comp systems. All five states adopted prescription drug formularies between 2018 and 2019.…

An appeals court in Illinois on Wednesday granted a disability award to a firefighter who suffered a stroke but may have had pre-existing conditions. A City of East Peoria for more than 20 years, Charles Melton in 2020 applied for an occupational disease disability pension, alleging a “work-related stroke brought on by exposure as a firefighter” and that he was…

Since 2014, the percentage of indemnity claims involving a major surgery in the first two years has declined one percentage point per year, falling from 28% of the 2014 claims to 23% of the 2019 claims, according to a study released Monday by the California Workers’ Compensation Institute. The study tracked treatment patterns in the California workers comp system for…

Climate change has hit states’ workers compensation systems, as more severe weather patterns, wildfires and other incidents have resulted in lost worker hours and had detrimental effects on mental health, among other things, a panel of experts said. After a disaster, employers must manage recovery efforts that are outside their usual operations, and employees can face more hazardous environments at…