Increased Use of Network a Key Driver in Moderating Medical Costs

ORLANDO, Fla. — The increased use of network physicians to treat injured workers is a leading factor to explain why workers’ compensation medical costs throughout the country have moderated in recent years, according to the National Council on Compensation Insurance’s project leader and senior actuary, Barry Lipton. Meanwhile, a researcher from California said favorable trends regarding medical payments in the Golden State are largely the result of legislative reform and the successful prosecution of a half-billion dollar fraud scheme. Throughout the country, avera...