A new report ($25 to download) from the National Foundation for Unemployment Compensation and Workers’ Compensation sheds light on the pandemic’s impact on work comp financials.

Joe Paduda

Managed Care Matters readers will not be surprised that the impact has been pretty positive; Mark Priven and I predicted this back in September 2020.

Several key takeaways:

• Medical costs plummeted — by more than $3.5 billion — almost 12%, likely due to lower employment resulting in fewer claims, coupled with the relatively lower cost of COVID-related claims.
• Total benefit payments dropped by almost $3.9 billion.
• Over the last decade, the national average benefit cost per employee dropped by 10.2% BEFORE adjusting for inflation. After adjusting for cumulative inflation of 17%, the real decline in benefit cost per employee was 27.3%. 

What does this mean for you?

Workers’ comp financials are pretty strong — for insurers and employers.

Priven is a really insightful actuary. 

Joseph Paduda is co-owner of CompPharma, a consulting firm focused on improving pharmacy programs in workers’ compensation. This column is republished with his permission from his Managed Care Matters blog.