Do zero-cost workers' compensation medical claims really have zero costs? The impact of workplace injury on group health insurance utilization and costs

Details

• Personal Author:
  Asfaw A ; Mao R ; Rosa R
• Description:
  Objective: Previous research suggests that non-workers' compensation (WC) insurance systems, such as group health insurance (GHI), Medicare, or Medicaid, at least partially cover work-related injury and illness costs. This study further examined GHI utilization and costs. Methods: Using two-part model, we compared those outcomes immediately after injuries for which accepted WC medical claims made zero or positive medical payments. Results: Controlling for pre-injury GHI utilization and costs and other covariates, our results indicated that post-injury GHI utilization and costs increased regardless of whether a WC medical claim was zero or positive. The increases were highest for zero-cost WC medical claims. Conclusion: Our national estimates showed that zero-cost WC medical claims alone could cost the GHI $212 million per year. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Delivery Of Health Care Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Promotion Occupational Health Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Disabled-workers Health-care Health-programs Health-protection Health-services Injuries Medical-care Medical-services Medical-treatment Sociological-factors Surveillance-programs Work-environment Worker-health

  More +
• ISSN:
  1076-2752
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OD - Office of the Director
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  55
• Issue:
  12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20043478
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Med 2013 Dec; 55(12):1394-1400
• Contact Point Address:
  Abay Asfaw, PhD, Office of the Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 395 E St, SW, Washington, DC 20201
• Email:
  hqp0@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e67506d5c90316305c923d8817efdf9540bb0a541823bfec53d9de487abba10539a63b354577f4aeb13df04a33c3a482bc5d7b5878cb8da42784c57d4b9d5ec5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/195366/cdc_195366_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 361.52 KB ]