Changes in Medical Treatment Trends After 20 Years of Incremental Workers Compensation Reform (Research Note, September 2020)

A CWCI study examines changes in the volume and reimbursement of different types of medical services provided to injured workers in California in the wake of incremental statutory and regulatory changes to the workers’ comp system enacted over the past 20 years, revealing shifts in treatment patterns and a redistribution of medical payments.   The study uses data from CWCI’s Industry Research Information System (IRIS) database on a sample of indemnity claims in which the initial treatment was rendered during an 18-year span (2000 through 2017) to determine the volume and amounts paid for workers’ compensation medical services by medical service category during the first 24 months of treatment, then tracks how changes in medical treatment patterns correlated with the implementation of the reforms.