National Academy of Social Insurance Workers’ Comp Report: Benefits, Coverage & Costs, 2012

August 26th, 2014 by Julie Ferguson

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Workers’ compensation benefits rose by 1.3 percent to $61.9 billion in 2012, while employer costs rose by 6.9 percent to $83.2 billion, according to a report released today by the National Academy of Social Insurance. The Academy notes that this reflects the continued economic recovery as employment and earnings rise, and that despite the uptick, program spending as a share of covered payroll remains below historical levels. Employers’ costs as a share of covered wages increased by $0.03 in 2012, to $1.32 per $100 of covered wages; benefits paid to injured workers decreased by $0.03, to $0.98 per $100 of covered wages.
You can view and download the full report from the Academy site for state-by-state detail — REPORT: Workers’ Compensation: Benefits, Coverage, and Costs, 2012 — along with a press release and an infographic, from which we’ve illustrated this post. The Academy notes these highlights from the state-by-state results, which show that between 2010 and 2012:

  • The number of covered workers and amount of covered wages increased in all jurisdictions
  • Benefits per $100 of covered payroll decreased in 39 jurisdictions.
  • Employers’ costs per $100 of covered payroll increased in 42 jurisdictions.
  • In 2012, medical benefits exceeded cash benefits in 33 jurisdictions.

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