WCRI: Costs Stable Following SB 863

Friday, May 4, 2018 | 0

Average workers’ compensation claim costs in the Golden State remained stable since the enactment of Senate Bill 863, the Workers Compensation Research Institute said in a statement announcing the publication of the 18th edition of its CompScope Benchmarks for California.

The report looks at data from California and 17 other states through March 2017, and found indemnity payments increased and medical payments dropped after SB 863 took effect in 2013. The results were essentially what was predicted for the bill, which sought to identify savings to pay for a permanent disability benefit increase.

Indemnity payments per claim have increased by between 5% and 6% per year since 2013, WCIR reported. Medical payments have dropped by 2% to 6% per year since SB 863 took effect.

California still had among the highest average claim cost among the 18 states examined in the study. The average cost of $14,400 in California was exceeded only by New Jersey, Louisiana and Illinois, which topped the list with an average cost of $16,625.

More information about the study, including a link to purchase a copy, is here.