Workers’ Compensation Research Institute News

Viewpoint: The Impact of Behavioral Health on Workers’ Comp

Workers’ compensation is a crucial safety net for employees who suffer injuries or illnesses in the workplace by providing financial support, rehabilitation and medical care. However, beyond the physical aspects of workplace injuries, the role of behavioral health in workers’ …

Study Shows Poorer Recovery Among Injured Workers with Psychosocial Risk Factors

Workers’ compensation patients had a higher prevalence of psychosocial risk factors than private insurance patients, and a stronger association between psychosocial risk factors and functional outcomes, a new study shows. The study from the Workers Compensation Research Institute found that …

Marijuana Waxes as Opioids Wane in Workers’ Comp

Workers’ compensation insurers have slashed spending on opioids, reducing the risk of addiction and delayed recovery, but now they are under increasing pressure to reimburse injured workers for a new kind of elixir. Six states now allow or require insurers …

WCRI Study Shows No Treatment Delays Caused by COVID, but Some Care Avoided

COVID-19 did not delay medical treatment for workers’ compensation claimants, but did decrease the amount of emergency care and other services provided to injured workers, a study released Thursday by the Workers’ Compensation Institute concludes. Research by WCRI economist Olesya …

WCRI: No Meaningful Delays in Work Comp Medical Care Despite Covid-19

Despite potential obstacles posed by the coronavirus pandemic, injured workers experienced no meaningful delays in access to medical treatment under their employers’ workers’ compensation programs during the pandemic. Research from the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) also shows that states …

WCRI Studies Show COVID-19 Orders Apply to Small Segment of Workforce

While at least 17 states have passed laws or issued orders that expanded access to workers’ compensation benefits for employees who contract COVID-19, many of those directives are creating new exposure for only a sliver of the workforce, new research …

Analysis: Recession, Fear of Job Loss, and Return to Work

With the COVID-19 virus causing economic disruption, The Workers’ Compensation Research Institute would like to share the findings from a study we published in 2010 that sheds light on how a typical recession affects the return to work of injured …

Work Comp Insurers Find Doctors Willing to Bend When Asked to Curb Opioid Use

Workers’ compensation insurers are reporting dramatic reductions in opioid use by injured workers. In some cases, all it took was asking doctors to stop renewing prescriptions. A peer-reviewed study by Mitchell International and Utah’s WCF Mutual Insurance Co. found that …

WCRI Report Shows Wide Variety in How States Control Work Comp Medical Costs

Workers’ compensation medical costs vary widely among the states both in terms of price and how often services are used. The differences appear to relate closely to which cost-drivers each state legislature tried to control and which were overlooked, according …

WCRI Medical Index Reasserts that Medical Prices Lower in Fee Schedule States

The second Workers’ Compensation Research Institute study released this month concludes that medical treatment for injured workers costs more and prices are growing faster in states that don’t have fee schedules. WCRI reported Thursday that in 30 states without fee …