IL Costs Average 10%/Year Growth WCRI Says

Workers' compensation costs per claim in Illinois are increasing rapidly, driven by higher medical costs per claim and greater use of medical services to treat injured workers, according to the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). The study of 12 states, representing over 50 percent of the nation's workers' compensation benefits, reported that costs per workers' compensation claim in Illinois rose an average of ten percent per year from 1996 to 2001, as of 2002. An increase in both the price and utilization of medical care contributed to the rapid growth, the study said, not...