Data from a new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute appears to support Florida’s decision this year to repeal a mandate for workers’ compensation insurers to use managed care in treating injured workers.
The study by consultant N. Mike Helvacian was reported on last week at the WCRI’s annual conference in Cambridge, Mass.
Among key findings from the study, which looked at the period from 1994 to 1999, was the information that claim costs went up 10 percent a year from 1995 to 1998 driven by "growing medical cost containment expenses."
Cost containment expenses were defined to include network participation fees for preferred provider organizations, utilization review fees, bill review fees and case management fees.
Mandatory managed car law took effect Jan. 1, 1997 and its repeal will be effective on Oct. 1.
