Florida Workers Compensation Costs Highest in the Country

04/18/2010

Regardless of safety precautions, employees run the risk of getting injured on the job. Workers compensation covers claims incurred following these injuries.

Such claims are significantly more expensive in Florida than any other state, according to a recent report by the Workers Compensation Institute. The report looked at cost, price and utilization of claims with prescriptions and found that the average payment per claim was $565, or 38 percent higher than the study's median.

"The main reason for Florida’s higher-than-average prescription costs was that some physicians wrote prescriptions and dispensed them directly to the patient at their offices," the report said. "When physicians dispensed, they often were paid much more than pharmacies for the same prescription."

Cost per claim in Michigan was lowest of the 16 states involved in the study, at $261 per claim. Physicians and pharmacies in this state were more inclined toward prescribing generic rather than brand name medications, and prices of commonly used drugs were lower.

Workers compensation prevents employees from suing for injuries incurred while working. Other policies businesses may look into include key person life insurance, property insurance, liability insurance and more.

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