Workers’ Compensation Reform

Details

• Personal Author:
  D'Andrea DC ; Meyer, J. D.
• Description:
  State legislatures framed workers' compensation laws in the early twentieth century to address the growing problem of work-related injuries and disability caused by the increase in workplace accidents that accompanied the Industrial Revolution. Workers' compensation guaranteed injured workers and their families timely payment for medical costs, lost wages, and death benefits. The first constitutionally upheld workers' compensation law was passed in 1911 in Wisconsin, and by 1920, all but eight states had passed workers' compensation laws. From the outset, the structure of the workers' compensation system has reflected a balance between the competing interests of businesses seeking affordable costs, labor demanding adequate and prompt benefits, and insurers attempting to attain reasonable profits. Reform efforts have thus faced the dynamic tension between these interests as well as the need to respond to larger social and economic changes. In the 1960s and 1970s, workers' compensation programs expanded to cover more workers and increase the amount of benefits in response to concerns that existing benefits were inadequate and failed to provide support for workers and their families during periods of disability. In the 1980s and 1990s, the increased benefits and unprecedented increases in the price of health care services drove up the cost of workers' compensation for businesses and insurers. Fee schedules, limited physician choice, restricted eligibility, lower benefits, and managed care were incorporated into workers' compensation to contain or reduce costs for businesses and insurers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Costs Occupational Safety Regulations Regulatory Activities Worker Safety Workers Compensation
• ISSN:
  1526-0046
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Connecticut ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  259-271
• Volume:
  4
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057722
• Citation:
  Clin Occup Environ Med 2004 May; 4(2):259-271
• Contact Point Address:
  John D. Meyer, MD, MPH, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center School of Medicine, 263 Farmington Avenue, Dowling North, Farmington, CT 06030-6210, USA
• Email:
  meyer@uchc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• Performing Organization:
  University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  19960701
• Source Full Name:
  Clinics in Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• End Date:
  20040630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:faac65597d814308ce066a56c2291a5aac1ad7d79d4af33613a0c70e40c42fb32fdeb75a5741e70032a2a6bc81d7240b6f9b2d99e3b4efe5d9f26ff5ad8bd5c2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/214971/cdc_214971_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 863.76 KB ]