Michigan Workers’ Compensation Payments Remain Stable as a Share of Payroll in 2004

New Reports Track 15-Year Trend in Payments

For Immediate Release: July 26, 2006
Contact: Jill Braunstein at (202) 452-8097

To download the full report, click here.
To download a brief for the state of Michigan, click here.

WASHINGTON, DC – Michigan workers’ compensation payments as a share of payroll remained relatively stable in 2004, continuing a recent trend, according to two studies released today by the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI). Compared to the wages of workers covered by the program, benefit payments rose by 1 cent per $100 of payroll—from 90 cents per $100 in 2003 to 91 cents per $100 in 2004, the latest year for which data are available.

Over the past seven years, Michigan benefit payments varied only slightly as a share of payroll. Payments ranged from a low of 90 cents per $100 of covered payroll in 1999, 2000, and 2003 to a high of 94 cents per $100 of payroll in 1998 and 2002.

While total benefits have varied little as a share of payroll, the composition of Michigan benefits has changed. Between 1998 and 2004, payments to providers of medical care grew from 26 cents to 34 cents per $100 of payroll, while cash payments to injured workers in Michigan declined from 68 cents to 57 cents per $100 of payroll.

In relation to payroll, Michigan payments for workers’ compensation are somewhat lower than for the nation as a whole. While benefits in Michigan were 91 cents per $100 of state covered payroll in 2004, national benefits were $1.13 per $100 of covered payroll.

More details may be found in the two documents released today by NASI. Workers’ Compensation: Benefits, Coverage, and Costs, 2004 is the ninth report in a series on workers’ compensation that provides the only comprehensive national data on these state-run programs. Workers’ Compensation in Michigan: Benefits and Coverage, 2004 compares recent trends in workers’ compensation for Michigan and the nation as a whole. Both items are available on NASI’s website, www.nasi.org.

EXPERTS TO CONTACT:

Ishita Sengupta
National Academy of Social Insurance
(202) 452-8097
isengupta@nasi.org

John F. Burton, Jr.
Study Panel Chair
Rutgers University
(732) 274-0600
jfburton@rci.rutgers.edu

Allan Hunt
Assistant Executive Director
W.E.Upjohn Institute
(269) 343-5541
hunt@upjohninstitute.org

Virginia Reno
National Academy of Social Insurance
(202) 452-8097
vreno@nasi.org

The National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization made up of the nation’s leading experts on social insurance. Its mission is to promote understanding and informed policymaking on social insurance and related programs through research, public education, training, and the open exchange of ideas.

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