DWC Releases Final COVID-19 Results Factsheet
To understand the impact of COVID-19 on the Texas workers’ compensation system, on June 2, 2020, DWC issued a mandatory data call with 74 selected insurance carriers. DWC has released its final factsheet with results as of April 2023.
This factsheet provides information on COVID-19 claims, including the percentage of claims that insurance carriers accepted or denied, as well as indemnity benefits or medical costs paid on claims. DWC’s COVID-19 data call will not be extended because of the low number of new claims. DWC anticipates that current trends will remain consistent moving forward. Accordingly, this will be the last update.
Key Findings:
COVID-19 claims: As of April 30, 2023, insurance carriers reported nearly 100,000 COVID-19 claims and 472 fatalities to DWC. A little more than half of these claims (51%) and fatalities (55%) involve first responders and correctional officers.
Claims with positive test or diagnosis: More than two-thirds of all COVID – 1 9 claims (72%) involved injured employees who tested positive or were diagnosed with COVID-19.
Denials and disputes: Insurance carriers denied less than half (39%) of COVID-19 positive test claims. Despite more than 27,000 denials of COVID-19 claims with positive tests or diagnoses, there were only 258 disputes filed with DWC as of April 30, 2023.
COVID-19 claims with benefits: During the COVID-19 pandemic slightly more than onethird (34%) of COVID-19 claims filed had medical or indemnity benefit payments associated with them. Most of the benefits paid on COVID-19 claims were indemnity benefits.
Claims with post-COVID conditions: Nearly a quarter of claims (23%) that received professional or hospital/facility services received these services beyond one month post-injury.
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