The National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) released its annual study of workers’ compensation costs for 2003. The report notes that while Hawaii’s workers’ compensation costs grew at a slower rate than the national average, Hawaii’s costs remained significantly higher than the national average.
Hawaii employers paid 26 percent higher at $1.57 per $100 of payroll for workers’ compensation medical and indemnity costs, according to the NASI report. Nationally, employers were paying significantly lower at $1.16 per $100 dollars of payroll.
With regard to medical costs, Hawaii paid .07 cents more per $100 than the national average. With regard to cash payments (wage replacement, disability payments) Hawaii paid .34 cents more per $100 than the national average. This report again confirms the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations