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Ohio Workers' Comp Payments rose 6.2 % in 2002
WASHINGTON, DC -- Total workers' compensation payments in Ohio rose to $2,388 million in 2002, an increase of 6.2% over the 2001 level of $2,248 million, finds a new report released by the National Academy of Social Insurance. Payments for medical care grew faster than cash benefits to Ohio workers in 2002. Payments for medical care rose to $1,107 million in 2002 from $999 million in 2001, an increase of10.7%. Cash payments to workers rose to $1,282 million in 2002 from $1,249 million in 2001, an increase of 2.6% . "Because each state has its own rules for workers' compensation, it is essential to have comprehensive and consistent national and state data to evaluate the impact of these programs on workers and employers," noted John F. Burton, chairman of the National Academy of Social Insurance study.Workers' compensation pays for medical care and cash benefits for workers who are injured on the job or become ill due to job related causes. In providing health care and cash payments to disabled workers and their families, workers' compensation is second in size only to the sum of Social Security disability insurance and Medicare, B urton noted.Ohio's total payments grew more slowly than for the nation as a whole. Nationally, workers' compensation payments grew by 7.4% to a total of $53.4 billion and spending for medical benefits rose by 9.4%, while cash payments to workers rose by just 5.8%. Nationwide, workers' compensation payments rose faster than wages for the second year in a row in 2002. "This occurred in part because wages grew hardly at all, following the economic recession that began in March 2001," Burton, of Rutgers University, noted. The year 2002 saw the slowest growth in wages in more than a decade (0.4%) and a decline in the number of covered workers for the second year in a row. Nationally, workers' compensation total payments for cash and medical benefits per $100 of wages grew by eight cents, to $1.16 in 2002 from $1.08 in 2001. This is lower than the peak in 1992, when benefits were $1.68 per $100 of wages. Total employer costs rose by 13% in 2002 to $72.9 billion. Costs to employers reflect premiums charged by insurers and benefits plus administrative expenses of employers who self-insure. Employer costs per $100 of wages rose to $1.58 in 2002 from $1.40 in 2001, but still remain well below their 1990 peak of $2.18 per $100 of wages. The report, Workers' Compensation: Benefits, Coverage, and Costs, 2002, is the seventh in a series that provides comprehensive national data on this largely state-run program. The study provides estimates of workers' compensation payments, both cash and medical, for each state, the District of Columbia, and the federal programs providing workers' compensation benefits. "