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Calif. comp inpatient hospitalizations flatten as spine surgeries hit low - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Calif. comp inpatient hospitalizations flatten as spine surgeries hit low by Louise Esola Workers Comp Coverage , Workplace Safety May 8, 2026 After nearly a decade of steady declines, California workers compensation inpatient hospitalizations have leveled off, while inpatient spinal surgeries — once among the system’s biggest cost drivers — have fallen to a new post-reform low, according to data released Thursday by the California Workers Compensation Institute. CWCI found there were 10,332 workers compensation inpatient discharges in 2024, out of 2.7 million statewide hospital discharges excluding childbirth-related stays, representing just 0.38% of all inpatient hospitalizations. That compares with a 0.82% share in 2013. Workers compensation inpatient stays declined nearly 50% over that 12-year period, while overall inpatient volume across workers compensation, Medicare, Medi-Cal and private insurance rose 10%. Among the four payer systems, Medi-Cal inpatient hospitalizations increased 55.9% from 2013 to 2024, driven largely by Affordable Care Act expansion and eligibility changes, while Medicare hospitalizations rose 9.3%. Privately insured inpatient stays declined 21.3% over the same span. The institute said workers compensation inpatient hospitalizations fell by less than 1% in both 2023 and 2024, suggesting the long-running decline has begun to stabilize. CWCI attributed the broader reduction to changes in claim volume, expanded utilization review and independent medical review, medical advances and a continued shift toward outpatient care. Spinal surgeries continued to show the sharpest drop. These procedures, which averaged $237,554 in hospital charges in 2024, declined 56.9% from 4,357 cases in 2013 to 1,877 in 2020. After a modest post-pandemic increase in 2021 and 2022, they resumed their decline, falling to 1,429 cases in 2024 — down 67.2% from 2013 and the lowest level since reforms targeting spinal surgery payments were enacted. CWCI said musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders remain the leading cause of workers compensation inpatient stays, followed by nervous system disorders and injuries, poisonings and toxic drug effects. Respiratory conditions that spiked during the pandemic have returned to pre-pandemic levels. At the same time, the remaining inpatient cases are becoming more severe as more routine procedures move to outpatient settings. Average length of stay increased 33.4%, from 4.55 days in 2013 to 6.07 days in 2024, while average hospital charges per stay rose 86.2%, from $105,408 to $196,227. 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