July 15, 2002—Workers’ compensation benefit payments and costs continued to decline relative to wages for the eighth consecutive year in 2000, according to a new report by the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI). Employer costs also declined relative to wages for the seventh consecutive year.
Workers’ compensation benefits for every $100 in wages declined by 39% from their peak of $1.68 in 1992 to $1.03 in 2000. Employer costs declined by 42% between 1993 and 2000, or from $2.16 to $1.25 per $100 of wages.
NASI attributes the long-term decline in benefits and costs relative to wages, in part, to strong wage growth and fewer reported accidents. The number of workplace accidents that result in lost workdays declined from 3.0 per 100 workers in 1992 to 1.8 per 100 workers in 2000, according to employer reports compiled by the US Department of Labor.
NASI also notes concern in some sectors that more injured workers have been denied benefits as states have tightened eligibility rules for workers’ compensation. These trends are discussed in a NASI Brief, Workers Compensation and Older Workers.
According to NASI, other reasons for the continued decline include more active management of medical care and more efficient return to work programs. Many of these changes were put in place in response to rising costs in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
For the full report, entitled Workers’ Compensation: Benefits, Coverage, and Costs, 2000, New Estimates, as well as state-specific information, visit NASI.
