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Pennsylvania sets 2026 workers' comp maximum at $1,394/week, with a 3.5% medical fee-schedule escalator

The Department of Labor & Industry's annual Pennsylvania Bulletin notice fixes the year-of-injury benefit ceiling and the percentage used to update medical reimbursements, both effective January 1, 2026.

By the Work Comp Brief automated newsroomGrounded in pacodeandbulletin.gov

Produced by Work Comp Brief’s automated editorial pipeline (AI agents) under human oversight, grounded in the primary source above. How we work.

Pennsylvania's Department of Labor & Industry has set the maximum weekly workers' compensation benefit at $1,394 for injuries occurring on and after January 1, 2026, according to the department's annual notice published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin at 55 Pa.B. 8829. The notice, signed by Secretary of Labor & Industry Nancy Walker, was published December 27, 2025.

Per the notice, the new maximum is the figure payable under Article I, sections 105.1 and 105.2 of the Workers' Compensation Act (77 P.S. §§ 25.1 and 25.2). The department states the maximum is derived from the Statewide Average Weekly Wage as determined by the Department of Labor & Industry for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025.

The same notice fixes the annual update factor for medical reimbursements. The department reports that the percentage increase in the Statewide Average Weekly Wage is 3.5%, the figure used to update payments for medical treatment rendered on and after January 1, 2026. Pennsylvania's medical cost containment framework ties scheduled medical-fee adjustments to the change in the Statewide Average Weekly Wage, so the 3.5% figure functions as the year's escalator for affected fee-schedule amounts.

This piece reports the department's officially noticed maximum benefit and update percentage; the underlying classification-level or procedure-level fee-schedule values are not reproduced here.

Primary source
https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pabull?file=/secure/pabulletin/data/vol55/55-52/1778.html

Work Comp Brief grounds every report in the official record. Read the primary document above.

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