Connecticut Pushes Through 6% WC Rate Decrease

• Connecticut insurance regulators have approved a 6% rate decrease in workers’ compensation insurance for 2025.
• The approval of an annual workers’ compensation rate filing for 2025 sets a decrease of 6.1% to the voluntary market loss costs and a decrease of 6.2% in assigned risk plan rates.
• The announcement said this represented the 11th-consecutive year insurance regulators have approved rate decreases for workers’ compensation insurance and reflects a continued decline in workplace injuries and filed claims.
• “With a decade of decreasing rates coupled with a continued drop in workplace injuries and claims, employers in Connecticut have saved more than $400 million in reduced premiums,” Insurance Commissioner Andrew Mais said.
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Minnesota Opens Application for WC Court of Appeals Vacancy

• Minnesota’s Commission on Judicial Selection is seeking applicants to fill a vacancy on the state’s Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals (WCCA) in January 2025.
• The court consists of five judges appointed to six-year terms by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. 
• State statute requires candidates to have been licensed to practice law for at least five years, and have experience with and knowledge of workers’ compensation and the workers’ compensation laws of Minnesota.
• Application materials on Dec. 5 and the commission expects to hold interviews in December.
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Outlier North Carolina Saw Medical Payments Fall

• North Carolina’s medical payments per claim for the treatment of injured workers under workers’ compensation fell in 2022, unlike many other states in that year, according to a recent study from the Workers Compensation Research Institute.
• WCRI said North Carolina has lower payments for hospital and nonhospital services than the typical study state, and payments have been largely stable since 2017.
• The study compares medical payments, prices, and utilization in North Carolina with 16 other states, analyzing claims data through March 2023.
• The state saw a 5% decrease in the use of networks from 2017 to 2022, as measured by the share of claims with payments for care in networks.
• As well, payments per inpatient episode were 21% lower than in the typical study state.
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