States Move on Benefit Increases

Illinois is pushing to the wire its update of workers compensation benefits levels, which are due for a change every six months, or July 15 in the current case.
As of this morning, the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission had not posted an update.
The Illinois statewide average weekly wage, or SAWW, for the first six months of this year, is $1,452.68, up from $1,430.84 and $1,423.44 for the first and second half of 2024, respectively.
Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Oklahoma all put new benefits rates into effect at the beginning of July.
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Our sister publication Workers’ Comp Executive reports that California has approved the state’s first workers’ compensation rate hike in a decade, an 8.7% hike in the advisory pure premium rates for policies incepting on or after Sept. 1, 2025.
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The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission has issued a request for proposals for claims administration services for its Uninsured Employers Fund.
The services sought include processing and investigating claims, medical provider bill reviews, utilization reviews, hospital bill audits, and providing discount prescription drug and medical supply services.
The Uninsured Employer’s Fund is the funding mechanism for compensation and medical payments to injured employees or their dependents when their employer was not properly insured at the time of an accident.
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According to our sister publication Workers’ Comp Executive, employers’ unpaid liabilities for California’s Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund claims are more than double prior estimates, topping $20 billion.
Private employers, self-insureds, joint powers authority (JPA), and all employers are on the hook for tens of billions of dollars, WCE reports.
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