WCRI: Medical Payments per Claim in Indiana Decreased in 2020, Reflect Some Impact from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cambridge,MA( WorkersCompensation.com)  - Medical payments per claim decreased in Indiana for 2020 injuries with experience through March 2021 after growing in 2019, according to a recent study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). This fluctuation in medical payments, in part, reflects factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The recent decreases in medical payments per claim in Indiana and many other states reflect some impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, such as postponed or avoided medical care due to concerns about COVID-19, and temporary suspensions of non-emergency surgeries during the early months of the pandemic,” said Ramona Tanabe, executive vice president and counsel for WCRI.

The following are among the study’s other findings:

• Medical payments per claim were higher than typical in Indiana, mainly due to prices paid for medical services.
• Utilization decreased for most nonhospital and hospital outpatient services in 2020.
• Prescription drug payments per claim were lower than other states; prices and utilization decreased between 2015 and 2020.

The study, CompScope™ Medical Benchmarks for Indiana, 23rd Edition, examined medical payments, prices, and utilization for various types of medical services in Indiana and compared them with 17 other states. It also examined how these metrics of medical payments and care have changed, mainly for injuries from 2015 to 2020. Since the report reflects experience on claims through March 2021, it provides a look at how the pandemic may have impacted non-COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims in the early months of the pandemic.

Click here to learn more about this study or to purchase a copy. Evelina Radeva authored this study.

About WCRI

The Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) is an independent, not-for-profit research organization based in Cambridge, MA. Organized in 1983, the Institute does not take positions on the issues it researches; rather, it provides information obtained through studies and data collection efforts, which conform to recognized scientific methods. Objectivity is further ensured through rigorous, unbiased peer review procedures. WCRI's diverse membership includes employers; insurers; governmental entities; managed care companies; health care providers; insurance regulators; state labor organizations; and state administrative agencies in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

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