In high-risk work environments, discussion of worker’s compensation in the event of an accident can feel a little taboo, like saying “bomb” in an airport. Though worker’s compensation (WC) costs have been in decline for several years, it is still an area that costs employers tens of billions of dollars annually. The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP) examined how chiropractic care can have a positive impact in their article, “Control Worker’s Compensation Costs While Improving Employee Productivity and Engagement Through Chiropractic Care”.

The equation to keep WC insurance premiums low or manageable is simple but not necessarily easy to achieve without a strategic approach. First, of course, is to enact all required and common-sense safety features to keep worker accidents and injuries to a minimum. The other half of the coin is minimizing healthcare spending both overall and when an incident does occur. Offering effective care that can help reduce the number of days employees need to spend on WC-related disability can reduce those costs and improve productivity.

Chiropractic care can often be overlooked by employers as a great option to reduce costs but also improve the health of their workforce. Chiropractic care can help correct most of the neuromusculoskeletal injuries and conditions that make up many WC claims. Worker’s compensation and business liability is a major concern for many businesses as workforce sizes increase and scope of potential dangers with it. In this regard the ebb and flow of what is considered reasonable employer responsibility is constantly in flux depending on the state a business operates in. As a result, chiropractic care benefits are sometimes cut or reduced, despite the overall usage of the benefits not making up a large portion of claims or costs. For businesses where employers had the choice of provider, there appears to be a less-than-thought out preference toward doctors that prescribe painkillers, surgery and extensive testing. Doctor of Chiropractic in this space, as in other spaces of health care, are often overlooked.

Given the concerns related to opioid misuse and the long-term issues that can come from rushing into potentially unnecessary surgeries, it seems like a shift in perspective is paramount. Perhaps some of the disparity is due to chiropractic’s focus on prevention as opposed to injury remediation, but who wouldn’t want to tackle pain or injury before it even becomes an issue? Many people are seeking medication-free pain management methods, and employers should consider providing that option within their healthcare plans to not only improve employee health but WC costs.

References (from original F4CP article)

  1. Griffin T. Murphy, Jay Patel, Leslie I. Boden, and Jennifer Wolf; Workers’ Compensation Benefits, Costs, and Coverage, October 2021; doi: Workers’ Compensation Benefits, Costs, and Coverage – National Academy of Social Insurance (nasi.org)
  2. Insurance, N. A. o. S. (n.d.). “Compare workers comp rates by state”. Insureon. https://www.insureon.com/blog/compare-workers-comp-rates-by-state
  3. Boden, Murphy, Patel, Wolf, Griffin T. Murphy, Jay Patel, Leslie I Boden, and Jennifer Wolf; Workers’ Compensation Benefits, Costs, and Coverage, October 2021; doi: Workers’ Compensation Benefits, Costs, and Coverage- National
  4. Boden et.al., Ibid (n.d.). Workers Compensation Benefits, Costs, and Coverage, National Academy of Social Insurance. nasi.org/research/workers-compensation/workers-compensation-benefits-costs-and-coverage/
  5. The Workers’ Compensation System: An Analysis Of Past, Present and Potential Future Crises (conducted Spring 2000). https://www.actuary.org/sites/default/files/files/workers.4.pdf/workers.4.pdf
  6. Clayton, Ann. (n.d.). “Workers’ Compensation: A Background for Social Security Professionals.” Social Security Bulletin vol. 65,24 (2003-2004).     https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v65n4/v65n4p7.html
  7. Chiropractic Care for Workers with Low Back Pain. Dongchun Wang, Kathryn L. Mueller, Donald R. Murphy, and Randall D. Lea. May 2022. WC-22-17.
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  10. National Safety Council, N. S. (n.d.). Work Injury Costs. InjuryFacts.NSC.org. https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/work/costs/work-injury-costs/
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  14. Allen, Harris PhD; Wright, Marcia PharmD; Craig, Terri PharmD; Mardekian, Jack PhD; Cheung, Raymond PhD; Sanchez, Robert PhD; Bunn, William B. III MD, JD, MPH; Rogers, William PhD Tracking Low Back Problems in a Major Self-Insured Workforce, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine: June 2014 – Volume 56 – Issue 6 – p 604-620 doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000000210
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