Indiana Workers Comp Fee Schedule Partially Enacted
The Indiana Workers Comp Fee Schedule was partially enacted 7/1/2014. That was a great move except a point was missed as to the real reason for their true cost figures. Check out the chart below. Click on the chart to bring it in focus.
The chart is from the ICRB (Indiana Compensation Rating Bureau) generated by WCRI (Workers Compensation Research Institute).
I have harped on states without fee schedules causing employers to pay much more in Workers Compensation benefits or premiums. One may notice that Wisconsin is even higher. Yes, they have no fee schedule for medical benefits either.
The chart was produced before the 7/1/2014. The Indiana Workers Comp fee schedule that was enacted in 2014 exempted physicians which are a large part of the non-hospital charges. One has to wonder why there was not a complete fee schedule enacted in 7/2014.
As a side note, kudos to Indiana for doing something to cut medical costs. Sitting on the sidelines would have been a very expensive option.
According to Stephanie Goldberg – Business Insurance– (she writes very concise articles)
Nearly 75% of Indiana’s total benefit costs are medical, which is higher than most other states, NCCI said in the filing dated Sept. 21.
The state’s average medical costs have increased steadily since 2006, when the average medical cost per claim was $22,883, according to the filing. The average cost in 2013, the most recently available full policy year, was $35,953.
NCCI has now recommended an increase in rates of 3.2% for 2016. Would an all-encompassing fee schedule have been the better choice? I have confidence that Indiana will produce a full fee schedule in the near future.
©J&L Risk Management Inc Copyright Notice
