WCRI: Michigan Medical Payments per Work Comp Claim Relatively Low

Medical payments per workers’ compensation claim in Michigan were among the lowest of 18 state workers’ compensation systems analyzed in a new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI).

The study, CompScope Medical Benchmarks for Michigan, 18th Edition, examined medical payments, prices, and utilization in Michigan and compared them with 17 other states over a period from 2010 through 2015.

“Michigan had among the lowest medical payments per claim among the study states,” said Ramona Tanabe, WCRI’s executive vice president and counsel in the group’s announcement. “Lower-than-typical medical payments per claim in Michigan were a result of lower prices paid for professional services as well as lower payments per service for hospital outpatient services.”

The following are among the study’s other findings:

• The relatively low medical payments per claim were likely due to the Michigan fee schedules for professional (nonhospital) and hospital services.
• Overall nonhospital utilization (measured as volume of provided services) was similar to other study states, although comparative utilization varied by type of service.
• Hospital inpatient and outpatient payments per claim were less than in the median study state, even though Michigan had a higher percentage of services billed by hospital providers.
• Over time, medical payments per claim in Michigan were relatively stable from 2010 through 2015.

WCRI studied medical payments, prices, and utilization in 18 states, including Michigan, looking at claim experience through 2016 for injuries that occurred mainly from 2010 to 2015. WCRI’s CompScope Medical Benchmarks studies compare payments from state to state and across time.

The Cambridge-based WCRI is based in Cambridge, Mass

Source: WCRI

Topics Workers' Compensation Michigan