Illinois WC Costs Higher Than Most

The study of 12 states, representing 50 percent of the nation‘s workers‘ compensation benefits paid, reported that higher payments for the medical care of injured workers and a larger proportion of claims with more than seven days of time away from the job were key reasons why costs per claim in Illinois ranked higher than other states. Workers‘ compensation costs per claim in Illinois also continued to grow rapidly, increasing 10 percent between 1998 and1999 (evaluated as of mid-2000), at about the same rate than the 11 percent growth experienced between 1997 and 1998, according to the Cambridge, Mass.-based WCRI.