A recent study by the National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc. (NCCI), made a startling claim: increases in workers' compensation medical claims severity have been outpacing the rise of medical inflation. During the five-year study period, general medical inflation grew by 21 percent, while workers' comp medical severity rose by 73 percent — more than triple the amount of general medical inflation.
Physical medicine was an integral component of this increase. The 2007 research brief "Measuring the Factors Driving Medical Severity: Price, Utilization, Mix" identified physical therapy services as a key cost driver, accounting for 24 percent of the 73 percent figure.
Why is this happening?
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