It is likely that more than 10 percent of the cost of medical benefits for the workplace injuries that occur this year will be for services to be provided more than two decades in the future, according to a study by the National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc. (“NCCI”). That percentage has been growing and might continue to grow, NCCI concluded.

The NCCI study examined worker's compensation medical services provided beyond 20 years after the injury, with a view toward anticipating:

• Which medical service categories will account for the largest shares of costs; and
• Future treatment and utilization that will drive those costs. 

Some key findings concerning services provided from 20 to 30 years following the date of injury were:

• Patients were predominantly male, more so than could be explained by historical gender differences in the workforce;
• Deteriorating medical conditions of the more elderly claimants was not a main cost driver; indeed, claimants younger than age 60 cost more per year, per claimant, to treat than those older than age 60; and
• Relative to services within the first 20 years after injury, care provided later had a significantly greater portion of cost going for prescription medications, supplies, home health services, and the maintenance of implants, orthotics, and prosthetics.

NCCI's full report is available at: https://www.ncci.com/documents/Med-Svcs-20yrs.pdf.