Nelson W J
Soc Secur Bull. 1993 Fall;56(3):68-74.
Workers' compensation programs provide protection to workers and their families. The programs compensate for lost wages and medical expenses incurred as a result of work-related injuries or illnesses. Survivor benefits are also provided when the disabilities result in death. In 1991, about $16.8 billion in medical benefits and $25.3 billion in wage-loss compensation was paid in settlement of claims filed for disabled or deceased workers. These benefits were paid by private carriers, by State funds, or by self-insuring companies as determined by laws in each State. The employer's cost of providing workers' compensation coverage generally varies according to risk, industrial classification, and experience rating. Nationally, such costs were approximately 2.4 percent of payroll or about $590 for each of the 93.6 million protected employees. This article examines the recent changes in coverage, in benefit levels, and in employer costs and the factors influencing such changes. Over the past decade, workers' compensation benefits have increased by 157 percent and employer costs by 143 percent. In the same period, the number of covered employees has risen 22 percent and the amount of covered wage and salary payroll, 77 percent.
工伤赔偿计划为工人及其家庭提供保障。这些计划对因工伤或疾病而产生的工资损失和医疗费用进行赔偿。当残疾导致死亡时，还会提供遗属福利。1991年，为解决向残疾或死亡工人提出的索赔，支付了约168亿美元的医疗福利和253亿美元的工资损失赔偿。这些福利由私人保险公司、州基金或自保公司根据各州法律确定支付。雇主提供工伤赔偿保险的成本通常根据风险、行业分类和经验费率而有所不同。在全国范围内，此类成本约占工资总额的2.4%，即9360万名受保护员工每人约590美元。本文探讨了保险范围、福利水平和雇主成本的近期变化以及影响这些变化的因素。在过去十年中，工伤赔偿福利增加了157%，雇主成本增加了143%。同期，参保员工数量增加了22%，参保工资和薪金总额增加了77%。
