Report: Frequency Declined Along with Health Care Costs in 2014

The number of Texas workers' compensation claims dropped by 1% in 2014, continuing a longterm downward trend, while total medical costs also dropped slightly, according to an annual report on medical costs and utilization by the Workers' Compensation Research and Evaluation Group. According to the report, total health care costs in the Texas system dropped about 0.5%, to $1.14 billion in 2014 from $1.2 billion in 2013. The number of claims dropped 1% from the prior year and have declined a cumulative 27% since 2000. The report showed a greater percentage of claims were treated within...