Below is a brief summary of the changes in overall prices for Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Texas.

North Carolina implemented new fee schedule rates for professional services effective July 2015. The new fee schedule rates incorporate the 2015 Medicare rates with the revised service-type specific multipliers, ranging between 140 and 195% of Medicare; before this, the fee schedule rates for most types of professional services in North Carolina were set at 158% of the 1995 Medicare values. The overall prices paid for professional services in North Carolina increased by 17% from 2014 to 2016 following this fee schedule change.
Kentucky discontinued the use of relative values from Medicare's resource-based relative value scale for its professional fee schedule in June 2014. Instead, it transitioned to state-specific relative values based on historical data from FAIR Health commercial database values. Following this policy change, the overall prices paid for professional services in Kentucky increased by 19% from 2013 to 2015.
Arizona implemented increases in fee schedule rates for evaluation and management, physical medicine and certain surgeries in October 2013. The overall prices paid for professional services in Arizona increased by 10% from 2013 to 2014 following this fee schedule change.
In Sept. 2011, the Illinois workers' compensation fee schedule rates for all types of medical services underwent an across-the-board decrease of 30%. Following this policy change, the overall prices paid for professional services in Illinois decreased by 27% from 2010 to 2012.
In 2011, the fee schedule rates in Texas increased for most professional services. Following this fee schedule increase, the overall prices paid for professional services in Texas increased by 16% from 2010 to 2011.
Massachusetts increased the fee schedule rates for most professional services effective April 2009. The overall prices paid for professional services increased by 15% from 2008 to 2010 following this fee schedule change.

Related: Why do injured workers turn to attorneys in workers' compensation cases?

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Six states saw uptick in prices paid for professional medical services

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