Workers Comp Unwrapped Episode 518: Where Your WC Dollars Go: Why CA Providers Are Paid 31% Less While Middle Networks Take 46% More

Workers’ Comp Unwrapped · Oct 19, 2026 · 22m

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California employers pour a lot of money into workers' comp, yet providers keep asking the same question: where does it go? The Workers Compensation Research Institute's 2026 benchmarks for California offer a data-driven answer. For claims with more than seven days of lost time, medical payments per claim sit 31 percent below the median study state, while Benefit Delivery Expenses, the cost of running the system around the care, sit 46 percent above it. In this episode, Ajay and Angel unpack what those two numbers actually measure, what the report does and does not say, who…