IBI Benchmarking Analytics: Which Diagnoses Drive STD Incidence, Costs and Lost Time?

IBI Benchmarking Analytics Series: Which Diagnoses Drive STD Incidence, Costs And Lost Time?

We are frequently asked about not only which diagnoses drive short-term disability (STD) outcomes, but also whether the impact of these diagnoses is changing over time. To answer these questions, we categorized STD claims by ICD-9/ICD-10 diagnosis code and examined results from data years 2011 through 2017.

Study highlights

• The overall STD incidence rate decreased by 8% between 2011 and 2017, from about 54 to about 50 new claims per 1,000 covered lives. Six diagnosis categories consistently drive the lion’s share of new claims: pregnancy, musculoskeletal conditions, injury and poisoning, diseases of the digestive system, mental and behavioral disorders, and neoplasms.
• Alone among the top six diagnosis categories, the pregnancy claims rate increased by 6% between 2011 and 2017.
• Payments per covered life decreased by 6%, from about $216 per covered life in 2011 to about $203 in 2011. The largest decrease (-26%) was seen among mental disorder claims. Payments for musculoskeletal, pregnancy, and neoplasm claims increased over the observed period. The largest growth (4%) occurred among pregnancy claims.
• Lost time per covered life declined by 9% from about 3.0 days per covered life in 2011 to about 2.7 days in 2017. Among the six most prevalent condition categories, the largest decrease in lost time (-14%) occurred among injury and poisoning claims, followed by mental disorders (-13%).

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