The average total cost per workers’ compensation claim in Indiana was stable in the years since the state enacted workers’ comp system reforms, according to a recent Workers Compensation Research Institute study.
The study, CompScope Benchmarks for Indiana, 18th Edition, provides a look at changes in the Indiana workers’ comp system following the enactment in 2013 of House Enrolled Act 1320. The legislation included the implementation of a hospital fee schedule that took effect on July 1, 2014, as well as increases in indemnity benefits in three yearly increments beginning in 2014.
The average total cost per workers’ compensation claim in Indiana was stable in the years since the state enacted workers’ comp system reforms, according to a recent Workers Compensation Research Institute study.
The study, CompScope Benchmarks for Indiana, 18th Edition, provides a look at changes in the Indiana workers’ comp system following the enactment in 2013 of House Enrolled Act 1320. The legislation included the implementation of a hospital fee schedule that took effect on July 1, 2014, as well as increases in indemnity benefits in three yearly increments beginning in 2014.
The study’s other findings include:
- From 2014 to 2015, medical payments per claim decreased 12 percent due in part to the introduction of a hospital fee schedule, which took effect on July 1, 2014.
- From 2015 to 2016, medical payments per claim increased 9 percent, which may partly reflect system features.
- Indemnity benefits per claim increased 4 percent from 2014 to 2015 and 11 percent from 2015 to 2016. The income benefit provisions of HEA 1320 were likely a factor in the recent increases in indemnity benefits per claim.
WCRI is an independent, not-for-profit research organization based in Cambridge, Mass. Visit the organization’s website for more information about this study or to purchase a copy.
This article was first published by Insurance Journal.
