Quarterly Newsletter: October 1 – December 31, 2024

Studies Published

• Heat-Related Illnesses in the Workplace—A WCRI FlashReport: As the number of heat-related illnesses (HRIs), such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke, continues to rise, this FlashReport builds on prior WCRI research to better understand HRIs in the workplace and distinguish the effects of excessive heat on HRIs versus heat-related accidents.
• CompScope™ Medical Benchmarks, 25th Edition: This study examines the factors influencing trends in medical payments per claim across 17 state workers' compensation systems, including Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. It also evaluates the impact of legislative and regulatory changes on these costs.

Research In Action

• National: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) referenced WCRI’s study on the effects of excessive heat on workplace injuries in its proposal for new heat injury standards for indoor and outdoor work environments.
• National: Data from WCRI's study on the impact of attorney representation in workers' compensation claims was cited during a panel of workers' attorneys at the 2024 National Workers' Compensation and Disability Conference in a session titled, "Why Do Injured Workers Lawyer Up?"
• Pennsylvania: During a hearing held by the Pennsylvania House Labor Committee to review the case of Federated Insurance Company v. Summit Pharmacy, several witnesses cited WCRI research on prescription drug costs in Pennsylvania. The hearing focused on the use of Redbook to determine the average wholesale price (AWP) for prescription drug reimbursements in workers' compensation cases.
• Louisiana: During the 2024 Louisiana Association of Self-Insured Employers (LASIE) Conference, Tim Temple, Louisiana’s Insurance Commissioner; Brian Blackwood, Assistant Secretary of the Office of Workers' Compensation Administration; and Candace Gerace, LASIE Chair, highlighted WCRI's CompScope™ research findings for Louisiana in their presentations, focusing on topics such as total cost per claim and medical and indemnity cost per claim.
• Minnesota: At the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) Workers’ Compensation Summit 2024, the DLI Research and Statistics Unit presented “Measuring the Recent History of Minnesota's Dynamic Workers’ Compensation System." The presentation cited multiple WCRI studies, including CompScope™ Benchmarks for Minnesota, 24th Edition, Impact of Attorney Representation on Workers’ Compensation Payments, and Interstate Variation and Trends in Workers’ Compensation Drug Payments, 5th Edition—A WCRI FlashReport.

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