WCRI Data Sees Medical Costs Rise as Much as 14%
- The Workers Compensation Research Institute last week revealed that medical payments per claim recently started increasing, stoked by an increase in medical utilization, medical prices, and updates to state fee schedules.
- The WCRI report examined medical payments, prices, and utilization by provider and by type of service across 18 states.
- That follows a period of relative stability post-pandemic, WCRI said.
- California saw a 5% increase in medical payments per claim, with increases in payments per claim for several nonhospital services, including physical medicine services, contributing to that growth, according to the report.
- Pennsylvania, medical payments per claim for care provided to injured workers rose 14% in 2023 after years of decreases, reflecting, in part, larger recent annual updates to the state’s medical fee schedule, which is tied to the statewide average weekly wage.
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- Idaho workers’ comp rates will drop by 2.5% on average in 2026, following a review by NCCI.
- This is the ninth-straight year of rate reductions in that state.
- With Idaho Department of Insurance’s (DOI) acceptance of the 2.5% reduction, workers’ compensation insurers can now either adopt the NCCI rates without modification or propose to the department’s review an adjustment from NCCI’s rates.
- “Workers’ compensation rates have declined in 10 of the past 11 years—nine consecutively. The 2026 rate reduction highlights our state’s ongoing improvements in projected claims costs and the continued drop in claims frequency,” said Dean L. Cameron, Director of the Idaho Department of Insurance.
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Acrisure to Sack 400 as AI Adoption Eliminates Jobs
- Acrisure will fire 400 employees from its workforce beginning in early 2026, citing advancements in technology and artificial intelligence.
- Acrisure said it remains committed to its home state of Michigan, where the company employs about 2,000 workers.
- The insurer did not say how the job cuts would affect its workers compensation line of business.
- The Grand Rapids, Michigan-based insurance broker reported P/C revenue of $2.83 billion in 2024, and its workers’ compensation business is described as a significant and historically strong part of its portfolio.
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