全球智库信息集成服务系统

Key Findings

• COVID-19 claim volumes have risen and fallen with statewide COVID-19 case volumes, leading to unprecedented volatility. For example, while COVID-19 claims averaged 15 percent of all claims in the 18 months commencing at the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 claims made up a majority (55 percent) of all claims with December 2020 injury dates.
• Initial denial rates on COVID-19 claims fell after presumptions were adopted, but COVID-19 claims remained more likely to be denied than other WC claims, potentially due to the requirement that a worker show a positive COVID-19 test.
• Extraordinary policy responses taken by the state and federal government likely had a strong influence on workers' use of the WC system for COVID-19. Interview findings indicated that workers who contracted COVID-19 relied first on COVID-19 sick leave mandated by the federal and state governments (as required by SB 1159) before filing a WC claim.
• Dramatically expanded coverage of COVID-19 medical care by public and private health insurers likely contributed to unusually high proportions of COVID-19 WC claims with no paid medical care.
• Employers and claims administrators reported that responding to COVID-19 WC claims added complexity and administrative burden.