Workers’ Compensation: Benefits, Coverage, and Costs, 1999 New Estimates, 1996-1998 Revisions

With advice of the Study Panel on National Data on Workers’ Compensation and the Steering Committee on Workers’ Compensation

Workers’ compensation programs have undergone many changes in recent decades. Total benefits paid for medical care and cash benefits for injured workers rose dramatically during the 1980s, and then declined sharply during most of the 1990s. In fact, 1999 marked the seventh year in a row that benefits relative to covered wages declined, and the sixth consecutive year that employer costs declined relative to covered wages.

This report revises and extends the data series published by the Academy in 2000. It presents national data for 1999, including benefit payments by state, by type of insurer, and more medical care and cash benefits separately. It also provides estimates of how many people are covered by workers’ compensation, including state-level estimates of the number of covered workers and total covered wages. Finally, the report includes significant revisions to previously published estimates for 1996 through 1998.

Sources and Methods for Workers’ Compensation: Benefits, Coverage, and Costs 1999 New Estimates, 1996–1998 Revisions

Letter to the Editor on Workers’ Compensation: June 2001