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How much is employee poor health impacting your bottom line?

…..more than you think!

Did you know that the health of your employees can be tied directly to the health of your company?

The pie chart below clearly demonstrates that employee poor health not only impacts your healthcare costs, but more importantly, also impacts disability claims, and lost productivity due to absenteeism and presenteeism (when employees show up for work despite being sick) factors.

As you can see, the lost productivity hits your bottom line significantly more than all other costs combined.  Here are some additional statistics that might keep you awake at night:

• A smoker costs an employer $3,856 in added healthcare cost and lost productivity annually¹

1. Almost 20% of the U.S. population uses tobacco products
2. Cost for a 100 employee business is over $77,000 annually
3. 
   

• Obesity

1. Healthcare costs are 36% higher than fit employees²
2. Obese individuals are more likely to develop related conditions such as high cholesterol, Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, Coronary Artery Disease, stroke and sleep apnea.

In the United States, many people obtain their health insurance coverage through their employer and although most health plans have provided some form of preventive care, they have traditionally been designed to help pay the cost of medical care after a disease or condition is manifested.  In other words, plan designs and insurance carriers waited until you were sick and then helped you pay the bills related to the care you receive.  The general rule of thumb indicates that 80% of an employer’s group health plan dollars are paid out on 20% of the population.  These are the individuals with significant medical conditions.  Employers in the past haven’t spent much time or budgeted dollars to create a wellness culture and a pro-active environment of promoting good health.

Here’s another startling statistic – 85% of healthcare expenditures today are spent on 5 lifestyle choices:

• Smoking
• Drinking
• Lack of Exercise
• Obesity
• Driving Habits

Imagine the positive effect wellness initiatives can have on that number.  Most of your employees don’t understand the impact of these lifestyle choices on their health and don’t get much of an opportunity to discuss it with their physicians.  If someone has high cholesterol which is related to a lack of exercise and being overweight, physicians frequently recommend drug therapy.  Physicians need to see many patients throughout the day which doesn’t give them time to talk to patients about what their condition is, what it means and if there are lifestyle changes they can make to improve their results.

Employers have the power to implement comprehensive wellness initiatives that will dramatically improve their bottom line not to mention that they just might save someone’s life.  ROI doesn’t happen overnight; however, study after study clearly demonstrates a positive return on investment.  You need a consistent message that your leadership team fully embraces and participates in the program.

If you’re interested in learning more about Benefits Resource Group^® (BRG) and how we can help you reduce costs and improve the health of your organization, contact Cindy LaQuatra, Senior Consultant at 216-393-1848 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Or you can visit our website at www.benefitsrg.com.

^{1 National Business Group on Health}

^{2 Gross, Robert “Countering a Weight Crisis” HR Magazine, March 2004}