Fee Schedule Slowed Growth of High Medical Costs, WCRI Says

Medical costs per workers’ compensation claim in Illinois showed slower growth in 2007 following implementation of the medical fee schedule in 2006, according to a study released Thursday by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI).The study, "Monitoring the Impact of Illinois Regulatory Changes: CompScope Medical Benchmarks, 10th Edition," reported that growth in medical costs per claim slowed to 5% after growing by an average of 12% annually in the three prior years.The decrease in growth rates likely reflected the impact of regulations on nonhospital and hospital providers, ...