WCRI: States Adopt Varied Medical Cost-Containment Strategies

By Bill Kidd, Central Bureau ChiefA report released by the Workers' Compensation Research Institute outlines a variety of cost-containment strategies that states have employed to hold down medical costs, with fee schedules and treatment guidelines the most frequent tools employed by cost-conscious state lawmakers.Containing medical costs plays prominently in the current debate over reform of Illinois' workers' compensation system, the third most expensive in the nation, according to a biennial benchmark study released last year by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Serv...