Workers Comp Medical Costs In Virginia
The Virginia WC medical costs are the most expensive in The Old Dominion State.
I have posted often on fee schedules and their effect on Workers Compensation claims. In my original post (see link) on fee schedules, I did not include Virginia. The Dominion State was and is still without a Workers Compensation claims fee schedule.
Fee schedules are very important in controlling Workers Compensation costs. The state with the highest medical cost has always been a non-fee schedule state. Virginia was 30% more expensive than the median state for medical charges (non-hospital). That is a stark number when looking at the effect on a company’s Workers Comp E-Mod.
A recent article on Virginia having the highest medical costs is not surprising overall. Tennessee was in the same position a few years ago. Initiating a fee schedule reduced their Workers Comp medical costs dramatically. The original study was performed by WCRI.
Virginia’s lack of a fee schedule will continue to make it one of the most medically expensive states for Workers Compensation without a doubt. Unless I am mistaken, VA uses the old Usual and Customary model or the average of what other medical providers charge for the same service in the same geographical area – better known as U&C. U&C is usually the most expensive way to pay Workers Compensation medical charges.
The 25 states included in the study, which represent more than three quarters of the workers’ compensation benefits paid in the United States, are: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
In my next post, I will see if NCCI confirms this fact.
Update – Effective January 1, 2018, the state will have a full fee schedule.
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