CWCI: Inpatient Hospitalization Drops More Than 50% in 10 Years

Inpatient hospitalizations fell more than 50% from 2012 through 2022 due to declining claim volume in addition to technical advances and Medicare rules allowing more outpatient procedures, according to a new report by the California Workers’ Compensation Institute. The adoption of evidence-based guidelines for surgeries and other procedures, as well as the elimination of the duplicate payment for spinal fusions, also contributed to the decrease in hospitalizations, CWCI said. The number of work comp inpatient stays fell from 21,505 in 2012 to 10,516 in 2022, a decrease of 51.1%. The nu...