Workers’ Compensation Policy Review

Summary of the Contents – May/June 2006

             Workers’ compensation incurred benefits per 100,000 workers vary significantly among jurisdictions in a particular year as well as nationally over time.  “Workers’ Compensation Incurred Benefits: 1985 to 2002” by John F. Burton, Jr. and Florence Blum provides information on cash benefits, medical benefits, and total (cash plus medical) benefits per 100,000 workers for up to 48 jurisdictions for each of the years from 1985 to 2002.

             The article provides an historical record of changes in the national averages of total benefits per 100,000 for the same 43 jurisdictions between 1985 and 1998, plus 42 identical jurisdictions for 1998 to 2002.  The national averages account for most of the benefit payments in the U.S. (including the six states with the largest number of workers’ covered by the program in 2002: California , New York , Florida , Texas , Illinois , and Pennsylvania ).

             The national data exhibit interesting developments over time.  Total benefits increased for the five years between 1986 and 1990; declined for the five years between 1991 and 1995; marked time in 1996 and 1997; increased rapidly from 5.1 percent in 1998 to 17.4 percent in 1999 and 16.0 percent in 2000; decelerated in 2001 to a 8.7 percent increase; and then dropped by 2.4 percent in 2002.

             The article examines the changes in cash and medical benefits (as well as total benefits) from 1985 to 2002 for individual states.  One striking result is that interstate differences in both cash and medical benefits narrowed considerably over these 18 years, although there has been an increase in the dispersion of benefits per 100,000 workers among the states between 1998 and 2002.

 Information on the Workers’ Compensation Policy Review

             The Workers’ Compensation Policy Review is published six times a year.  Requests for a sample copy or for subscription information can be sent to WCPR, 56 Primrose Circle , Princeton , NJ 08540 -9416; by FAX to 732-274-0678; by e-mail to JBWCR@aol.com; or electronically by visiting the website: www.workerscompesources.com. The January/February 2006 issue (which provides examples of how state workers’ compensation programs can be compared) can be downloaded without charge from the website.