CAMBRIDGE, MA - Medical cost containment became a focus for many states in the early 1990s, when the medical portion of the workers' compensation benefit dollar began to grow more quickly than many other claim costs.

The comprehensive tables in this report provide policymakers and system stakeholders with useful information about which medical cost containment strategies have been adopted by which states as of January 1, 2008, and provide additional references for those that wish to obtain more detail.

The strategies include: medical fee schedules; regulation of hospital charges; medical and hospital bill review; choice of provider; treatment guidelines; utilization review/management; and managed care. Also included are the growing areas of pharmaceutical regulations; and urgent care and ambulatory surgical center fee schedules.

These tables are in a web-accessible form. No other publication offers the same in-depth description of medical cost containment strategies in such an easy-to-use format. The tables may be purchased separately or as a group.

To read the abstract or to order these tables, go to the WCRI web site: http://www.wcrinet.org/result/MCC_909_result.html

Source: WCRI