Replacing cornstarch powder-coated latex gloves with powder-free latex gloves reduced worker's compensation claims for latex-related illness, report researchers at Geisinger Medical Center in the November-December 2008 issue of Dermatitis. Because cornstarch may aggravate latex allergies, the medical center switched to powder-free gloves in 2001. The average yearly incidence of latex-related medical claims was 3.16 times higher from 1997 to 2001, before the switch, than from 2002 to 2005. And the average annual workers' compensation disbursement fell from $34,789 before the use of powder-free gloves to $2,505 afterward. The new gloves cost more than the old ones, but that cost was offset by these savings.