Californians accounted for 22.3 percent of all cash and medical benefits paid to injured workers in calendar year 2004, according to the latest estimates released by the National Academy of Social Insurance.
The NASI findings were reported by the California Workers' Compensation Institute, which noted that the academy's data does not fully reflect the effect of workers' comp reforms passed in California between 2002 and 2004–many of which were not fully implemented or did not take effect until after 2004.
CWCI said information it has and data from the California Rating Bureau and others show that claim costs, claim frequency and premium are all down sharply since 2004, and it expects 2005 results should show significant drops from 2004 levels.
However, CWCI noted that even after those reductions, the scope of the California workers' comp system–whether measured by covered wages, covered employees, employer costs or employee benefits–means the California's market "will undoubtedly remain the largest in the nation, and one of the largest in the world."
In 2004, California represented 11.7 percent of all jobs covered by workers' comp in the United States and 13.2 percent of covered wages.
Nationwide, in 2004 state and federal workers' comp programs–encompassing both insured and self-insured employers–covered nearly 126 million workers and just under $5 trillion in covered wages.
Benefit payments under the nation's comp programs totaled $56 billion–$26.1 billion for medical care and $29.9 billion in cash benefits to injured workers–up 2.3 percent from 2003.
California–the largest jurisdiction in the country–had 14.7 million covered workers, $653 billion in covered wages, and $12.5 billion in benefit payments for 2004 calendar year. That's nearly four-times the benefit total for New York, which ranked second with $3.3 billion in benefit payments–just ahead of the federal government, which ranked third with just under $3.3 billion in payments for its workers' comp programs.
CWCI noted 14 other states also paid more than $1 billion in benefits, and the 10-highest volume jurisdictions accounted for more than 60 percent of the nationwide total.
The only change in the top-10 rankings from 2003 was in the eighth and ninth positions, as Washington overtook Texas, where medical payments dropped 18.1 percent and indemnity payments fell 10.4 percent–resulting in an overall reduction of $283 million in benefit payments (minus-15.2 percent) for the year–the biggest decline in the nation.
Total 2004 workers' comp benefit payments increased in 40 of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and in the federal programs. California's $56 million increase in benefit payments–up 0.5 percent–was due entirely to a $313 million increase in indemnity payments, which more than offset a $257 million reduction in medical payments.
The biggest dollar increase–$202 million–was noted in Wisconsin, followed by:
o New York, which increased $117.1 million.
o Illinois–up $109.7 million.
o North Carolina–up $92.5 million.
Aside from Texas, the biggest dollar decreases were in West Virginia ($87.9 million) and Florida ($51.6 million).
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