Provider consolidation = Higher workers’ comp costs, longer disability

Healthcare provider vertical integration increases work comp medical costs, increases disability duration, and does not deliver better outcomes.

And, provider consolidation continues to increase.

The lede is the one-line summary of WCRI’s latest – and quite useful – research.

Olesya Fomenko and Bogdan Savich collaborated on a very well done study of vertical integration of providers’ impact on work comp, and their research bodes ill indeed.

Summarizing the experts’ findings, vertically integrated providers had: 

Some detail…courtesy WCRI

And if you think that’s bad…here’s the impact on disability duration…

These conclusions generally align with what we’re seeing from other payer types…consolidation leads to higher prices and negative to neutral impact on outcomes.

That isn’t stopping consolidation  – far from it.

What does this mean for you?

Find out how consolidated provider markets are where your business is. And watch for more consolidation, as that will predict higher costs.