More WC Injury Visits Now Seen by Nurse Practitioners, Assistants With No Cost Impact
- A Workers Compensation Research Institute report released Jan. 23 found that while there’s been an increase in the number of first medical visits by injured workers seen by nurse practitioners and physician assistants, it’s had little impact on claims cost.
- The study’s findings highlight challenges such as medical provider shortages and rising healthcare demand, “which can cause treatment delays, prolonged recovery times, and higher workers’ compensation costs. These issues, amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic, remain a concern for ensuring timely access to care,” WCRI said.
- The percentage of first office visits with physicians decreased from 81% in 2013 to 60% in 2022, while the percentage of first office visits with physician assistants or nurse practitioners increased to 22% from 11% and to 16% from 5%, respectively, according to the WCRI research.
- Despite fewer physicians, particularly as a result of pandemic exits, the shortage did not “meaningfully contribute to changes in claim costs, duration of disability, and types of care provided.”
- The states with the highest use of the practitioners in initial office visits, more than 50%, included Indiana, Nevada, New Mexico and North Carolina. Those with the lowest use, below 25% of those first visits, included Delaware, Kentucky, New Jersey and Virginia.
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New York Firefighters Seek to Put Volunteers’ Workers Comp on Legislative Agenda
- The Firefighters Association of the State of New York are seeking to put better compensation for volunteer firefighters injured in the line of duty on state’s 2025 legislative priorities, following a recent outreach meeting.
- A bill that calls for volunteer firefighters to be paid the same amount of workers’ compensation as paid employees injured on the job is one of the association’s highest priorities, spokesman Rob Leonard said during the meeting.
- “Right now, I fall and break my leg here, I get $650 a week … I break my leg at work and I get $1,200,” Leonard said. “We are at a disadvantage.”
- The association also called for a law prohibiting the sale of firefighting equipment that contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), so-called “forever chemicals.” Officials said the measure would ban PFAS in equipment by 2028.
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