Workers' compensation: coverage, benefits, and costs, 1986.

would operate under future conditions that m&t rensonnbly be expected to develop The figures used here are based on the alternn-twe II or " mtermed~nte " nssumptlons from the 1977 Trustees Reports, mcludmg nssumptlons that-the fertlhty rete nil1 continue to decrease (from its estimnted lexe, m 1910 of 171 eh,ldre " ,,er aoman), go,n~ doan to 16; cbxldren DW \\ " " I " " I " 1980, then the rate IS assumed t " increase 3rad " nlly, reaehmg 2 1 by 2OO.i " " d rern " , " , " ~ ,e,el thereafter-d,snb,hty incidence rates \1 ill continue fnrreasm& reaehm:: an ultimate lrtel in 1986 that 18 33 wrcent greater than the e~tmmted 1077 level lncrense to a " ultimate level that is 13 percent greater than the 1076 level-after 1')Rl, the Cn " su, " er Price Index will increase by 4 ~,erce " t nnnunlly-hospital costs all, fnrrense by about 15 rx?ree " t annnally for the next 5 yam. stter 10 years the annual n,crense is nss,,med to be about 10 percent Assumptions ~~-ere also made c,oncernmg other vnrlnbles, such ns the tmung pattern of fertlhty, Reflectmg the nnprovmg economy, the number of workers covered by \\orkers' compensatmn programs m an average xeek mcronsed to 69 1 mdhon m 1376 This 31-percent r~,e from the number a year enrher roughly paralleled groxs th m employment t,hroughout the cwlhnn labor force (3 4 percent) durmg the sune permd Benefits pad to workers and the cost of the program to employers both rose substantmlly, as they have for several yesrs In 1976, benefits totaled nearly $7 5 bdlmn and program costs, mcludmg sales expenses, proI&, and costs of adnumstratmn, amounted to 5109 bdhon The latter figure represents a notable rxe of almost $2 bdlmn or nlmoqt 23 percent over 1975 costs The mcrease m costs from 1974 to 1975 xas 13 percent The 19% rate of growth \%ns more than double the averngo rate during 1970-75 Most of the growth In costs was exphuned by the continued rue In st,atutory benefits payable for se medlcnl care and In mdemmty awards and by contmued mflntmn Durmg 1976, for example, the medxnl care component of the Consumer Pnce Index rose 9 5 percent) COVERAGE The number of norkcrs protected by workers' compensatmn lavs rose m 1976 by 2 1 mllhon In 1975, In contrast, It had fallen by …