The California Workers‘ Compensation Institute (CWCI) has issued new research showing the combined effect of an increase in the number of chiropractors treating fewer injured workers with higher levels of chiropractic services per claim has been to drive up both the average cost and the overall cost of chiropractic care in California workers‘ compensation.
California‘s workers‘ compensation insurer payments to chiropractors climbed from $77 million in 1996 to $195 million in 2001 (a 153 percent increase over six years) pushing chiropractors‘ share of the workers‘ comp medical dollar from 11.4 percent to 17 percent, as they surpassed clinics, orthopedists, and physical therapists to become the number one classified medical specialty group rendering treatment to California‘s injured workers.
