HOW DOES HEALTH INSURANCE AFFECT WORKERS’ COMPENSATION FILING?

Abstract

About half of injured workers choose not to file workers’ compensation claims. This is thought to result from their use of health insurance instead of workers’ compensation. However, the data suggest that insured workers are actually less likely to file than their more vulnerable uninsured counterparts. We found that this relationship emerges as the result of employer characteristics and, in particular, that employers who offer health insurance to employees are more likely to have workers who file claims; this is much more important than the insurance status of workers themselves or fixed worker characteristics. (JEL I1, J3)