NCCI Tracking Medical Price Inflation Rise

NCCI’s January Medical Inflation report is out, with a forecast on medical price inflation in 2025, noting that price growth for physician services is a trend they will continue to watch in the new year, as it has implications for prices in fee schedule and non-fee schedule states.
Last year, this largest category of spend in workers compensation saw price growth above longer-term averages, driven by increases in non-Medicare prices offsetting a small decline in Medicare prices.
The group’s analysts, who saw moderation in facilities prices in the second half of 2024, will be tracking that metric, positing that longer-term trends in prices for inpatient and outpatient services suggest this softening may be temporary.
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NY State Legislators Mull Multiple WC-Related Bills in New Session

Several workers’ compensation-related bills have been introduced in The New York State Assembly in recent days.
A.B. A3723 would allow certain claimants to be classified as permanent total disability or total industrial disability due to extreme hardships.
A.B. A3890 would provide disability payments to transit workers who are disabled by reason of an assault sustained in the course of employment.
S.B. S3951 would change existing law to require the state to provide a written record of claims-related hearings in a worker’s native language.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is seeking reforms in the state’s workers’ compensation system, aiming to streamline access to care and expand the pool of authorized providers.
The move comes as only 10% of providers participate due to complicated authorization processes, according to a representative of the State Workers Compensation Board.
Among the changes sought is a plan to automatically authorize licensed providers and raise reimbursement rates tied to Medicare standards.
To further entice providers to get on board, the governor wants to codify regulations to ensure those providers get paid by insurance companies while claims are being contested.
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DC Firefighters Gain Expanded Cancer Coverage Under New WC Law

Firefighters in Washington, D.C., diagnosed with seven occupational cancers now have those conditions covered under the District’s workers’ compensation laws.
These include colon, colorectal, multiple myeloma, lymphoma, brain, non-Hodgkin’s, and throat cancers. Coverage for kidney, thyroid, and bladder cancers is scheduled to take effect in 2028.
The Presumptive Disability Act was initially passed in 2012, covering leukemia, breast cancer, prostate cancer, respiratory diseases, heart conditions, and infectious diseases. The expanded coverage eliminates the burden on firefighters to prove their cancer is job-related.
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