This study can help policymakers and other system stakeholders in Louisiana identify current cost drivers and emerging trends in payments, prices, and utilization of medical services among nonhospital and hospital providers.

The report examines medical payments per claim, prices, and utilization in Louisiana and compares them with 17 other states (Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin). It also examines how these metrics of medical costs and care have changed, mainly from 2011 to 2016, for claims at an average of 12 months of experience. Claims with experience through 2017 for injuries up to and including 2016 were analyzed. In some cases, a longer time frame was used to supply historical context for key metrics.

The impact of reforms, such as the implementation of medical treatment guidelines in 2011, is also discussed along with recent policy debates around ways to improve medical outcomes and manage costs, such as revisions to the reimbursement approach, particularly for hospitals, and on use of opioids.

CompScope™ Medical Benchmarks for Louisiana, 19th Edition. Carol A. Telles. October 2018. WC-18-29.

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