Bureau Says Calif. Comp Insurers Spent Less in '07

According to a report from the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, California workers' comp insurers spent $1.25 billion less related to claims and expenses last year than in 2006, or just less than $11.2 billion.

The report, submitted to the governor and legislature, showed that medical payments remained about the same, with insurers seeing a drop in indemnity payments, overhead, loss adjustments and finally defense costs.

The Rating Bureau analysis also reports:

• Payments to physicians accounted for nearly $1.55 billion, or 41 percent, of the $3.77 billion in medical payments.
• Specialists received $1.16 billion of the medical payments.
• In a further breakdown by the top 10 categories of specialists, psychiatry was the only specialty in which total payments increased in 2007, rising $1.2 million or 6.1 percent.
• Payments to hospitals accounted for another $966 million in medical reimbursements, an increase of almost $150 million from 2006. That translates to one out of four medical dollars paid last year, the institute noted in its summary.
• Applicants attorneys received 11.3 percent less in fees last year, or $306 million, down from $345 million in 2006.
• The only area in which indemnity payments grew in 2007 was death benefits, which increased by 11 percent.
• Workers' comp insurers paid 13.8 percent less in overhead expenses last year, for a total of $2.43 billion.