’Zero-Cost’ Workers’ Comp Claims Aren’t Really Zero Cost

Many workers’ compensation (WC) claims result in no payment from the WC system, but do lead to increased costs for employee group insurance plans, reports a study in the December Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM). Nationwide, so-called zero-cost WC claims could cost group health insurance plans more than $200 million per year, according to the study by Abay Asfaw, PhD, and colleagues of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The researchers analyzed data on more than 12,000 injured workers who filed for WC insurance from 2002 through 2005.