NCCI: Drug Spend Up 6% in 2014

Prescription drug use in workers’ comp claims fell 4% in 2014, but prices for the drugs rose 11% on average that year, resulting in a 6% increase in workers’ comp prescription drug spending, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. Spending on prescription drugs accounted for 17% of workers’ comp medical costs in 2014, NCCI researchers Barry Lipton and David Colón said in the report. But the prescription drug portion of medical costs increases rapidly as claims age, rising to 45% to 50% on claims older than 10 years, th...