In 2004, agressive – and controversial – workers’ compensation reform was designed to drastically reduce the cost of insurance for California employers. Since then, groups from across the state have been working to overturn the reforms.

But despite the work that had already been done, insurance costs remain among the highest in the country, some 31% above the national average.

From The Sacramento Bee:

Although the highly controversial overhaul of workers’ compensation in 2004 sharply cut employers’ costs in California, the state still has the nation’s fifth most costly system of support and medical care for employees with job-related illnesses and injuries, according to a new survey.

The workers’ compensation overhaul, which tightened eligibility for benefits and imposed new cost controls on medical care, is one of outgoing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s most prized achievements, but unions, medical care providers and attorneys who specialize in workers’ comp cases have tried to undo it for years.

Read the full article here.