While a recent survey of 30 metropolitan areas showed a 30% increase from 2014 to 2017 in the average wait time for a new patient to be seen by a doctor, NCCI research for workers comp injuries across 41 jurisdictions tells a different story. Considering these findings and the increases in the number of people with health insurance, this study seeks to answer the question:
Did the Affordable Care Act (ACA) stress the healthcare delivery system and make it more difficult for workers compensation claimants to get medical care?
NCCI’s latest research brief, “Monitoring the Time From Injury to Treatment,” answers that question and more. This study, which considers data going back to 2011, found, among other things:
- Since the ACA went into effect, injured workers did NOT see an increase in wait time to see a doctor
- In fact, some wait times actually decreased, depending on the type of provider
- There is no consistent relationship between time to treatment for workers compensation claims and the proportion of the population with medical coverage
The research brief delves into specifics for different provider groupings, in-network vs. out-of-network, and types of injury. For more details on these and other findings, access the
complete report.
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