As physicians continue to dispense higher-priced medications, prescription costs are growing in Florida’s workers’ compensation system, reveals a new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute.

Physicians are also dispensing a larger share of prescription payments in Florida’s workers’ compensation system. In fact, from 2004-2008, prescription payments for physician-dispensed prescriptions in Florida increased from 17 to 46 percent, finds the WCRI study.

According to the study, Prescription Benchmarks for Florida, 2nd Edition, Florida’s workers’ compensation system’s average payment per claim for prescription drugs is $536, which is 45 percent higher than the median of the states surveyed. Between 2005-2006 and 2007-2008, the average cost per claim for prescription drugs in Florida grew 14 percent while most other surveyed states’ rates remained fairly stable over the time frame.

WCRI’s study also suggests that legislation H.B. 5603, which was passed in 2010 but eventually vetoed, would place reimbursement rates for physician-dispensed prescriptions on equal footing with pharmacies for the same medications.

The 17 states that participated in this study are California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.

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Physician dispensing increases workers compensation costs in Fla.

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