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Just
Released: “State Report Cards
for Workers’ Comp”, based
on newly available OSHA data Work
Loss Data Institute – 2/24/03 Corpus Christi, TX – A new study based on data from OSHA Form 200’s, covering all OSHA recordable injuries and illnesses, provides the basis for rating state-by-state workers’ compensation performance. The study, called State Report Cards for Workers’ Comp, was prepared by Work Loss Data Institute (WLDI) to help employers, insurers, TPA’s, state governments, and consultants answer the questions, “Who is doing well and why?” As workers’
compensation costs begin their upward spiral again, it becomes increasingly
important to identify those factors contributing to the cost increases,
especially those that may be controlled.
History has shown that there are major differences in costs from state
to state. This report shows that
during the year 2000 the ratio of workers’ compensation insurance costs from
state to state was over 4 times from the highest cost state to the lowest cost
state. These cost differences can
play a major role in the competitiveness of companies operating in these
states, and also on decisions to expand or relocate. There
are two major drivers of these workers’ compensation costs.
The first is outcomes, specifically the success within a state in
preventing injuries, and when they occur, their success in returning the
injured worker to health and productive endeavor, thus avoiding prolonged
absence and medical treatment costs. The
second driver of these costs is administrative burden, sometimes referred to
as the “friction” inherent in that states’ workers’ compensation
system. “Friction” is the
accumulation of rules, procedures, disputes, delays, discretionary charges and
patterns of practice that press upon the resolution of claims.
This report focuses on the first driver of costs, outcomes. The
WLDI report is based on the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses from
the Bureau of Labor Statistics OSHA Form 200, for 2000, the most recent year
for which complete state-by-state data is available.
The Survey of OII, Form 200 and the latest Form 300 also serve in part
as a foundation for Official Disability Guidelines, which is also
published by Work Loss Data Institute. This
OSHA database covers all OSHA recordable cases within those states in the
program. For the year 2000 there
were 44 participating states and territories, and 9 states did not
participate. Among those states
not participating for the year 2000 were Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, New
Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Wyoming. In
comparing outcomes, six key variables were looked at in depth for each state. 1) Incidence
Rates. Good
workers’ compensation outcomes start with prevention; proper attention to
safety can minimize the chances of a claim ever happening in the first place.
Specifically, WLDI looked at the incidence of claims involving days
away from work for each state. The
national incidence was 1.8 cases per 100 full-time workers.
The rate varied from a low of 1.2 in Georgia to a high of
3.4 in West Virginia. 2) Cases Missing
Work. When
an injury happens, many cases do not require any time off from work and these
cases place minimal burden on the system.
WLDI looked at the total number of cases within each state, and
calculated percent of total cases missing work.
For the U.S. as a whole, 29% of OSHA recordable cases required time off
from work. This percentage varied
from a low of 22% in Iowa and
Kansas to a high of 77% in Puerto Rico. 3) Median
Disability Durations. When
a case requires missed work, the longer the case is out the higher the
indemnity costs. For the U.S. as
a whole, the median disability duration in 2000 was 6 days.
This varied from a low of 4 days in Georgia, Indiana, and Virginia to a
high of 17 in Puerto Rico, The
next highest are Texas at 10, and California and New York at 8 days. 4) Delayed
Recovery Rate. A
key driver of workers’ compensation costs is cases that fail to resolve in a
relatively short period of time. The
frequency of long term injuries has a huge impact on workers comp costs. For
the total U.S., 21.0% of cases were out of work for 31 days or longer.
This ranged from a low of 13.1% in Minnesota and 13.4% in Wisconsin, to
highs of 34.9% in Puerto Rico and 31.8% in Texas. 5) Key
Conditions: Low Back Strain. To
investigate in depth the different variables in state-by-state workers’
compensation outcomes, the study analyzed each condition within each state.
The OSHA BLS system, based on the OSHA Form 200, does not use the ICD9
diagnostic coding system, but Work Loss Data Institute has been able to
convert the OSHA claims to an ICD9 based system, based on a combination of
OSHA’s Nature of Injury codes and OSHA’s Body Part codes.
Using ICD9 code, WLDI provides
disability duration outcome information for every reportable condition in the
U.S. for the year 2000, and then provides the same information for each of the
44 states and territories where data was available for the year 2000.
WLDI lists the top 10 Workers Compensation Diagnoses for 2000,
including Rank, ICD9 code, Condition, Cases, Medical Costs (Means and
Medians), Lost Work Days (Means and Medians), Restricted Work Days (Means and
Medians), and Average Number of Provider Visits.
The number one condition is back sprains and strains (ICD9 847),
resulting in over 333,000 cases in the U.S. with lost workdays in the year
2000. In addition to being the
most common condition, this is also a condition with a great deal of
variability, as shown by the difference between the median and the mean
disability duration. In comparing
state by state outcomes for back sprains and strains, the states with the best
outcomes for back strain are Minnesota, Maine, Nebraska, and Iowa, and the
worst states are Puerto Rico, New York, Texas, and California. 6) Key
Conditions: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. While
not as common as low back sprains, carpal tunnel syndrome also has a
significant impact on workers’ compensation costs.
Among the most common workers’ comp conditions, carpal tunnel
syndrome is ranked 9th in
frequency according to this study, and it has the longest average disability
durations among conditions in the top 10.
In comparing state by state outcomes for carpal tunnel syndrome, the
best states and territories for carpal tunnel syndrome are the Virgin Islands,
Arkansas, Arizona and New Mexico, and the worst states are West Virginia,
Louisiana, and Massachusetts. Report Cards.
In preparing an overall report card
for each state WLDI looked at each of the above six key outcomes measures, and
the state’s rank in that outcome. A
low rank is good and a high one is bad. (A
state ranking number 1 is the best in that category.)
Then WLDI combined the six rankings for each state into an overall
ranking, and assigned 5 grades – A, B, C, D, & F – based on where the
overall ranking fell. Who got
A’s? Nine states, including
Georgia , Minnesota, Iowa, Nevada, Utah, Indiana, Arizona, Oregon, and
Arkansas. Who flunked (got
F’s)? Eight states and
territories, including Puerto Rico, West Virginia, New York, California,
Texas, New Jersey, Louisiana, and Rhode Island. Following
is a complete list of states and their grades.
The 168-page WLDI special report, entitled State Report Cards for Workers’ Comp provides complete detail on all cases for participating states, based on all cases reported to OSHA for the year 2000. Work
Loss Data Institute is an independent database development company focused on
workplace health and productivity, and publisher of Official Disability
Guidelines and Employer Health Register. |
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