Swifter, Smarter, Stronger

“The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but that’s the way to bet.” ~Damon Runyon

The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) gathers data, analyzes industry trends and provides reports that help the industry set appropriate rates and loss cost. I’m linking to a recent NCCI Research Brief that compares the prices and quantity of physician services between group health (GH) and workers’ compensation (WC).

This is a fascinating report, and it scientifically supports conclusions that most of us in the medical cost containment arena have known for years. Some of the findings are as follows:

WC pays more than GH to treat comparable injuries;

Quantity differences account for 80% of the cost differences;

Price differences are more related to jurisdictions/fee schedules than to type of injury;

Chronic or pain-related injuries have the largest differences;

Higher WC surgery costs are more driven by higher prices.

These conclusions will not come as a surprise to most of my readers. My conclusion has remained the same over several decades. If you want to do better in workers’ comp medical cost containment, you have to work swifter, smarter and more scientifically.

Call us. We will take your bet and do better.

William Faris, JD
Chief Executive Officer
502-495-5040
william.faris@omca.biz
www.omca.biz

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