TY  - JOUR
AU  - Neumark,David
AU  - Barth,Peter S.
AU  - Victor,Richard
TI  - The Impact of Provider Choice on Workers' Compensation Costs and Outcomes
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 11855
PY  - 2005
Y2  - December 2005
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w11855
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w11855.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
David Neumark
Department of Economics
University of California at Irvine
3151 Social Science Plaza
Irvine, CA  92697
Tel: 949-824-8496
Fax: 949/824-2182
E-Mail: dneumark@uci.edu

Peter Barth

Richard Victor
AB  - We study how provider choice in workers' compensation cases affects costs and outcomes. When employees choose the provider, costs are higher and return-to-work outcomes are worse, while physical recovery is the same although satisfaction with medical care is higher. The higher costs and worse return-to-work outcomes associated with employee choice arise largely when employees selected a new provider, rather than a provider with whom the worker had a pre-existing relationship. The findings lend some support to recent policy changes limiting workers' ability to choose a provider with whom they do not have a prior relationship.
ER  -