This analysis compares vocational rehabilitation payments prior to 2004 to the maximum voucher amounts allowed by the new Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit program that took effect for injuries on and after January 1, 2004.

In 2004, state lawmakers were considering a proposal to cap the payment of temporary disability beyond two years. To evaluate the potential impact of such a move, policymakers needed to know what proportion of claims involved more than two years of paid TD benefits and the proportion of TD paid after the two-year threshold. Results of this analysis hinged on the specific start and stop points state lawmakers used to define the two-year time frame.

This report traces the history and development of evidence-based medicine (EBM) and weighs the potential impact of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) guidelines by comparing ACOEM guideline recommendations to existing treatment and disability patterns among injured workers in California. The analysis modeled detailed medical and disability data from more than 1 million workplace injuries reflecting $8.6 billion in workers’ compensation benefit payments. The study found that applying the objective ACOEM guideline criteria could significantly increase quality of care, reduce unnecessary medical costs and facilitate return-to-work for the low-back injuries.

A substantial body of evidence from the group health sector indicates that there is a strong relationship between physician experience, measured by the volume of care provided, and the outcome of that care. This study explores the association between the experience level of the providers who treat and manage California’s injured workers and their outcomes as measured by claim costs (medical and indemnity) and other factors.

This study examines various characteristics of claims with injuries between 1993 and 2000 that involved attorneys. The research measures the level of attorney involvement, average legal and benefit costs of those claims, the timing of attorney involvement and the method of resolution.

This research explores the hypothesis that increasing chiropractic utilization from 1993 – 2000 was associated with the statutory and judicial expansion of the primary treating physician’s presumption of correctness. This study measures changes in the volume of services and the level of payments for chiropractic care in California workers compensation.

This Report to the Industry provides background on the issue of pharmaceutical benefit delivery, reimbursement, and management in California workers’ compensation. The analysis reviews past studies by CWCI and other research organizations that compare the California system to other programs, examines the current role and potential savings from PBMs, and outlines factors that are likely to affect the cost and delivery of pharmaceuticals to injured workers in the future.

The Institute has published a report on a study linking increased litigation, claim duration and medical payments to judicial, legislative and regulatory changes implemented in the three years following enactment of the 1993 California workers compensation reforms.

This Research Abstract measures differences in inpatient admission characteristics, hospital resource use and clinical severity between California’s workers compensation, group health and Medicare systems. The results challenge the perception that workers compensation admissions are “more difficult” to treat than patients from other systems.

This study sets the parameters for potential medical savings that could result from a mandated expansion of group medical managed care into workers’ compensation.