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Workers' comp medical price growth slows to 1.0% in June

The NCCI Workers Compensation Weighted Medical Index fell to 1.0% year over year in June, down from 1.5% in May, as outpatient care and medicinal drug prices eased.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Health Insurance

Workers’ compensation medical inflation softened in the second quarter, with the NCCI Workers Compensation Weighted Medical Index dropping to 1.0% year over year in June, down from 1.5% in May and 1.8% in December, according to Risk & Insurance, citing National Council on Compensation Insurance data. NCCI said the index remains below its 2.5% 3-year and 5-year rolling averages.

The adjusted CPI Medical Care measure came in at 3.1% in June, and the Producer Price Index for Health Care Services rose 2.2% year over year, Risk & Insurance reported. NCCI said medical price growth has largely moved independently of broader economic inflation trends, pointing to a similar pattern during the 2022 inflation shock.

NCCI attributed the June slowdown to hospital outpatient care and medicinal drugs. Outpatient care prices showed essentially no year-over-year change in June, following a decline from 2.1% in December, and NCCI cautioned that upcoding to more complex services could still raise costs.

For medicinal drugs, prices fell 2.3% year over year in June and have declined for six straight months, Risk & Insurance reported. NCCI said the drop occurred despite tariff-related concerns, attributing the decline to the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program and the proposed Most-Favored-Nation pricing policy.

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