Nearly 25% of COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims in Texas that involved professional or hospital/facility services received such services beyond one-month post-injury, according to a report released by the state Department of Insurance.

As of May 1, insurers reported to the Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation more than 83,000 COVID-19 claims and 448 fatalities, with 51% of claims and 55% of fatalities involving first responders and correctional officers, according to the report released Tuesday that compiled data from 74 insurers.

Sixty-six percent of all claims involved injured employees who tested positive or were diagnosed with COVID-19. Insurers accepted 58% of COVID-19 positive test claims.

Despite more than 21,000 denials of COVID-19 claims with positive tests or diagnoses, there were only 184 disputes filed with DWC as of May 1.

Thirty-five percent of COVID-19 claims had medical or indemnity benefit payments associated with them. Most of the benefits paid on COVID-19 claims were for indemnity, particularly employer salary continuation and temporary income benefits, compared with medical benefits, according to the report.

Business Insurance is a sister publication of WorkCompCentral. More stories are here.