NU Online News Service, Sept. 9, 2:59 p.m. EDT

While employer workers' compensation costs in 2008 decreased compared to 2007, medical payments and cash benefits to injured workers saw the largest percentage increase since 2001, according to a report by the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI).

NASI said total workers' compensation benefits paid increased 4.4 percent to $57.6 billion in 2008--the most recent year for which data was available. NASI said an 8.8 percent increase in payments for medical care drove medical spending to $29.1 billion in 2008, while wage replacement benefits paid directly to injured workers rose by 0.3 percent to $28.6 billion.

"For the first time, medical benefits accounted for over half (50.4 percent) of all benefits paid," NASI said.

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