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Montana: Hearing examines rising costs of state's comp system
Workers' compensation costs in Montana are among the highest in the country, and reforms must be made to ensure the financial stability of employers in the state, according to a study.
Members of the Montana Economic Affairs Interim Committee recently held a hearing to examine the high cost of workers' comp in the state. The committee is responsible for developing goals for a study of the state's workers' comp system, which was requested during the last legislative session. The study, which ranked at the top of a recent poll of lawmakers' priorities, will explore the factors that drive the costs of workers' comp premiums and the structure of workers' comp, particularly as it relates to the Montana State Fund. At the hearing, an official from the National Council on Compensation Insurance highlighted the findings of a report on the dire state of the workers' comp system in Montana. According to the study, the average medical cost per claim in the state is approximately $40,000; the national average is $24,000. In addition, NCCI found that Montana's claim frequency rate has declined, but not to the levels seen regionally or nationally. The state also has higher than average indemnity costs, higher than average medical costs, and longer claims duration.
August 6, 2009 Copyright 2009© LRP Publications |
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