Medical Reform Cuts Texas Workers’ Compensation Claims Costs

Workers’ compensation reforms are paying off in Texas, where costs per claim are falling, even as wages are rising. The per-capita average of $30,313 for combined medical, indemnity and benefit expenses is 23 percent lower than the $39,273 median cost in the 17 other states studied by the Workers Compensation Research Institute. Texas’ workers’ compensation expenses were nearly 40 percent below those in neighboring Louisiana. Back in 2000, Texas had the highest medical payments per claim among the states surveyed by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). The institute did not provide comparisons for the other 32 states.