WCRI: Networks Helped Control Costs in Absence of Fee Schedule

By Michael Whiteley, Eastern Bureau ChiefThe extensive use of medical networks and other methods of cost containment have helped hold down claims costs in New Jersey, despite the lack of a medical fee schedule, the Workers Compensation Research Institute reported last week.The Cambridge, Mass.-based research group included New Jersey for the first time in a 16-state study of medical costs. Entitled "Medical Benchmarks for New Jersey, CompScope 11th edition," the study concluded that overall medical costs per claim in New Jersey -- $12,969 -- were "typical to higher" than the 15 other states.Th...