ITHACA, N.Y. -- A Cornell University study may have the last word on whether a reform of New York workers' compensation program would save money and ensure quality medical care.

The pilot program requires employees of participating companies who are injured at work, and therefore eligible for workers' compensation, to seek medical care from a managed care organization rather than from their family physicians. The experimental program will test whether a major overhaul of New York's workers' compensation program would affect the quality of care while enabling insurance companies to reduce premiums, which have been accused by some as contributing to the migration of business from the state.

"Most people believe the state's workers' compensation managed care program will save money, but there is not much evidence -- detailed medical information and cost information -- to see if that's really the case," said Ronald Seeber, the study's co-principal investigator and associate dean and director of extension of Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. "Hopefully, this study will provide conclusive evidence as to the merits or disadvantages of such a system."

The three-year $870,000 study, funded by the state and conducted by the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, will assess the workers' compensation managed care program by examining workers' compensation claims-level data on medical procedures, medical and indemnity payments and return to work; firm-level data on workplace safety; and interviews with injured workers about their satisfaction with medical treatment and their ability to work. Study results are not expected until the summer of 1997.

Participating in the pilot program and Cornell study are employees at three Rochester-area employers, the largest of which is Wegmans Food Markets, and five Rochester-area managed care organizations: Parkridge Health Connections, Strong Memorial Hospital, Healthworks, CompMed and CompChoice. Employers added to the state's pilot program also will be surveyed. In addition, the study will poll employees not covered under the workers' compensation managed care pilot.

The employee interviews are being conducted by Computer- Assisted-Telephone-Interview (CATI), the same system used by the U.S. Census Bureau and CBS News for its surveys, noted Data Manager Yasamin DiCiccio.

The CATI system, according to DiCiccio, ensures accuracy of data, reduces possibility for human error, and allows for faster data analysis than the traditional paper-and-pencil method of administering phone interviews. The CATI facility is located in 253 Ives Hall. Telephone interviews are conducted by Cornell students under the supervision of facility supervisor Lisa Horn. Senior Research Associate Tim Schmidle, also a member of the research team, has responsibility for developing and maintaining contacts with state officials and for identifying and monitoring statutory, regulatory and other workers' compensation developments. "The fact that the legislature wrote the School of Industrial and Labor Relations into the pilot program legislation is an excellent example of how the School fulfills its statutory mandate to provide research that helps the state," said Robert Smith, co-principal investigator and associate dean of academic affairs at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

The Cornell study, however, could have an impact far beyond New York's borders, as at least 25 other states have enacted workers' compensation managed care legislation.