According to a new research report from the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), the slowest payout rate of any workers' compensation service category is for prescription drugs. Overall, less than 20 percent of prescription drug costs for lost-time claims are paid by the end of the sixth relative service year.

The report, Medical Services by Size of Claim—2011 Update, provides insight into an area that constitutes a major cost driver in workers' compensation. Medical services now account for almost 60 percent of workers' compensation claim costs, up from about 40 percent in the early 1980s.

Through narrative and charts, the NCCI research study quantifies how the mix of medical services for a more serious injury or illness differs from the type of care required to help a worker heal from a minor mishap. It also shows how the medical services profile for workers with serious injuries is markedly different in the later years of their treatment from the mix of services required early on.

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