Giving workers their choice of medical providers in workers' compensation claims on average doesn't impact costs either way — when looking across all injury types, according to a study released last week by the Workers Compensation Research Institute, The Effects of Provider Choice Policies on Workers' Compensation Costs.

But for back-related injuries and the most expensive claims overall, the evidence suggests worker choice may drive up costs, the Cambridge, Mass.-based organization's study concludes.

When analyzing costs across all injury types, there was little evidence of differences in average costs per claim between states where policies give employers control over the choice of provider and states where policies give workers the most control of the choice of provider, according to the study. This is especially true for medical costs, where average cost differences were near zero.