Research

A CWCI Research Update finds the use and cost of Schedule II and Schedule III painkillers to treat California injured workers has remained at record levels since 2010 and takes a fresh look at the prescribing patterns of doctors who write Schedule II opioid prescriptions.

With the passage of Proposition 64, California voters approved the use of recreational marijuana in the state. This CWCI analysis examines the intersection of workers' compensation with medical and recreational marijuana laws in California, in other states, and at the federal level.

A new CWCI study measures the level of attorney involvement in Calif WC indemnity claims, and provides regional data on average payments and claim closure rates for these claims.

A new CWCI Report to the Industry examines the issue of Urine Drug Testing in California workers' comp, which now accounts for nearly half of all lab services and more than half of all payments for lab services in the California system.

A CWCI study reviews statutory, regulatory and judicial changes to the California workers' comp medical-legal process over the past quarter century, provides updated data on the quantity, mix and cost of medical-legal services following the 2002-04 reforms, and generates benchmark data for future research on the impact of the 2012 reforms, which introduced IMR as the new means for resolving treatment disputes.

New CWCI research that tracks average California workers' comp medical loss, indemnity benefit and medical cost containment (MCC) payments on AY 2005 – 2014 lost-time claims finds mixed results, with more developed data on older claims showing paid medical losses and indemnity leveling out or declining, and less developed data on newer claims indicating that average amounts paid in the early stages of a claim are on the rise.