The share of lost-time claims involving workers aged 65 and older doubled, rising from 4% in Accident Year 2012 to 8% in 2025. Similarly, the share of claims involving female workers increased over the study period, rising from 33% in Accident Year 2012 to 36% in 2025.
When looking at age specifically, these shifts in demographic trends matter because age can reflect underlying physical vulnerabilities and health history, not because age alone determines treatment. Consider a common workplace event like a slip and fall. The exact same physical fall that results in a minor bruise for a 20-year-old worker is more likely to result in a far more serious diagnosis, such as a fracture, for a 60-year-old worker. The higher medical utilization for the older worker is driven by the fracture diagnosis and any treated comorbidities present during recovery, not by age itself.
Gender differences follow a similar pattern. Lower average medical utilization among female workers is not caused by women seeking healthcare differently. Instead, the utilization gender gap is driven by how men and women are represented across industry classes and the resulting diagnosis mix.
This report builds on presentations made by Paul Hendrick and Raji Chadarevian at Annual Insights Symposium 2026. It uses NCCI medical claims data to examine how changes in the age and gender demographic of injured workers relate to medical utilization and what factors explain those differences.
Key Findings
- Age and gender gaps in medical care are driven by diagnosis mix, treated comorbidities, and job types
- Claims for workers aged 65 and older have doubled since 2012 and require 21% more care on average, primarily due to chronic health conditions and diagnoses
- Claims for male workers require 28% more care on average than claims for female workers, primarily due to industry mix and diagnosis types
As the workforce evolves, demographic shifts will reshape the distribution and shares of key claim characteristics and comorbidities, which in turn will drive changes in expected claim intensity. Understanding these underlying drivers can help improve future utilization projections and provide valuable insight into emerging trends in workers compensation medical severity.
To explore the full findings and analysis, read the
complete report.
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