It’s almost that time again. The time when some of the best and brightest minds in workers’ compensation converge on a frigid New England city to discuss the state of our beloved industry. Yes, the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) is once again hosting its annual Issues & Research Conference, this year running March 3-4, 2026, at the Westin Copley Place in Boston, Massachusetts.
And it’s not just the industry’s brightest minds that will be there. I’ll be there, too.
For those who have followed this blog over the years, you know I consider the WCRI conference one of the premier events on our industry’s calendar. It’s where the serious research happens, where actual data gets presented, and where we might actually learn something useful about how our systems are performing. No magic elixirs. No sales pitches disguised as educational sessions. Just solid, peer-reviewed research from an organization that has been doing this since 1983.
In a world drowning in anecdotal evidence and emotion-driven policy decisions, WCRI remains that rare beacon of objective analysis. They don’t take positions on the issues they study – they simply present the facts and let the rest of us figure out what to do with them. It’s a revolutionary concept, I know.
For those unfamiliar with the Workers Compensation Research Institute, a brief introduction is in order. Founded over four decades ago, WCRI is an independent, not-for-profit research organization dedicated to providing objective data and analysis to help improve workers’ compensation systems. Their mission? To be a catalyst for significant improvements by providing credible, high-quality research on important public policy issues.
In plain English? They’re the folks who actually dig into the data to figure out how our state-based systems are really performing. Their research covers everything from medical costs and treatment trends to indemnity benefits, prescription drug patterns, and litigation rates. If you want to know what’s actually going on in workers’ comp – not what the lobbyists say, not what the advocacy groups claim, but what the numbers actually show – WCRI is your source.
This year’s conference agenda looks particularly compelling, especially given the turbulent environment in which our industry finds itself operating. Let me walk you through what attendees can expect.
Access to Care in a Changing Health Care Landscape
The Day One keynote will be delivered by Dr. Benjamin Sommers, the Huntley Quelch Professor of Health Care Economics at the Harvard School of Public Health and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. If you’re unfamiliar with Dr. Sommers, he’s one of the nation’s leading health economists, having published over 200 articles and been elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2019. His research on Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act has been profiled in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post.
Dr. Sommers will examine the impact of potential Medicaid cuts and the expiration of Affordable Care Act tax subsidies on health care costs for employers and access to care for injured workers. As WCRI’s President and CEO Ramona Tanabe noted, “Federal policy changes will have far-reaching effects on workers’ compensation systems, employers, and injured workers.”
This is not an abstract policy discussion. Changes in the broader health care landscape directly affect workers’ compensation. When people lose health insurance coverage, workers’ comp often becomes the default payer for conditions that might otherwise have been treated elsewhere. When access to care diminishes in a community, injured workers face longer waits and fewer provider choices. Understanding these dynamics is essential for anyone trying to manage a workers’ comp program effectively.
Emerging Medical Treatment Trends: Joint Replacement & Injectable Drugs
Medical costs remain the largest component of workers’ compensation expenses in many states, and this session will dive into two areas seeing significant change: joint replacement surgeries and injectable drugs.
Joint replacement procedures have evolved dramatically over the past decade, with changes in surgical techniques, implant materials, and recovery protocols. Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical landscape continues to shift, with injectable medications playing an increasingly prominent role in treating various conditions. Both trends have significant implications for claim costs, treatment outcomes, and injured worker recovery.
Employer Panel: Workplace Challenges & Solutions
One of the most valuable aspects of the WCRI conference has always been its ability to bring together diverse perspectives. The employer panel gives attendees a chance to hear directly from companies managing real-world workers’ compensation challenges – not theoretical discussions led by consultants, but practitioners sharing what’s actually working (and not working) in their organizations.
State of the States: WCRI Benchmark Findings
No WCRI conference would be complete without their signature CompScope™ benchmark presentations. These sessions provide comparative analysis of how different state systems are performing across key metrics: medical costs, indemnity payments, claim duration, and more.
For anyone trying to understand how their state’s system compares to others – or how recent legislative changes have affected outcomes – these benchmark presentations are essential. They provide the context necessary to have informed discussions about system performance.
Day Two Keynote: Dr. Bob Hartwig on the Big Picture
The Day Two keynote will feature Dr. Bob Hartwig, a familiar name to anyone who follows insurance economics. Dr. Hartwig will provide a broad overview of the workers’ compensation ecosystem, covering risk management, economic trends, and the forces shaping our industry’s future.
His presentation will examine labor markets, wage trends, the regulatory and political landscape, and the investment environment for long-tailed lines like workers’ compensation. It’s the kind of big-picture perspective that helps attendees understand how the forces affecting the broader economy ultimately ripple through our systems.
Why I Keep Going Back
I’ve attended more workers’ compensation conferences than I care to count over the years. Many have blurred together into a haze of PowerPoint slides and lukewarm buffet chicken. The WCRI conference stands apart for one simple reason: substance.
This is where we learn things that can actually change how we view our industry. Not vendor pitches masquerading as education. Not political talking points dressed up as research. Actual, honest-to-goodness analysis that respects the audience’s intelligence.
The attendee mix reflects this seriousness. You’ll find policymakers, researchers, claims executives, risk managers, and medical professionals – people who genuinely want to understand how these systems work and how they might be improved. The networking opportunities are substantial, but they emerge from shared intellectual curiosity rather than from business card exchanges.
Boston in early March is not exactly balmy, so pack accordingly. But the intellectual warmth (and the coffee) inside the Westin Copley Place will more than compensate for the weather outside.
The Details
Event: 2026 WCRI Issues & Research Conference
Dates: March 3-4, 2026
Location: Westin Copley Place, Boston, MA
Full Agenda & Registration: https://whova.com/web/h6qxsfHRM2pmOuMVYOLJ-wcCk9U%40nC17Y3lM7c%402DLM%3D/
Early registration discounts are available – sign up before February 4 and save $100.
I’ll be there taking notes and reporting back on the presentations, as I have in past years. If you see me in the hallway, stop and say hello. Better yet, buy me a drink. I’ll be the one clutching a coffee cup like it’s a life preserver and muttering about not leaving Florida again until June.
Some things never change. And in an industry that seems to daily embrace the norm over bold innovation, WCRI’s annual gathering is oddly comforting.