Va. Medical Cost Per Workers’ Comp Claim Higher Than Most States

Broad metrics of worker’ compensation costs show that Virginia is a lower cost state, largely due to a lower frequency of claims, according to a new report from the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI).

But it also found that the average cost of medical care per each claim for injured workers in Virginia is among the highest among the 16 states included in the study. When comparing Virginia broadly, insurance premium rates there were 32 percent lower than the median of the 50 states. This reflects lower claim frequency in Virginia as well as higher-than-average cost per claim.

The average cost per worker in Virginia was 27 percent lower than the median of 46 jurisdictions – resulting from a somewhat higher average cost per claim but a lower frequency of claims per 100,000 workers.