Employers can help cut health care costs
Stress for Success
March 9, 2010

Health care costs are exploding and endangering our economic recovery and future stability. Government can’t fix the cause. Only we can because we, individually, are the cause.

First, here are some of the facts.

Employers’ average per employee cost for health care grew from $6,384 in 2003 to $9,312 in 2008. During these same years, employees’ share of their own health care costs increased 59%, creating great stress among many. (Source: Towers Perrin 2008 Health Care Cost Survey)

The cost of health insurance premiums has far outpaced the rate of inflation and earnings over the past 20 years (source: Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005) and if food prices had risen at the same rate since the 1930s we’d be paying:
* $80.20for a dozen eggs;
* $13.70 for a pound of sugar;
* $122.48 for a pound of bacon;

And no wonder our premiums have skyrocketed. An Indiana University-Purdue University, Fort Wayne Study in 2006 found that employee lifestyle counts for a vast majority of health care claims costs: 87.5% to be exact! This seems extreme to me because it doesn’t seem to take into account our genetic weaknesses. My belief is that your genetics, along with your good and bad habits of a lifetime determine which afflictions you’ll suffer. Your stress level throughout your life will determine when your genetic weaknesses will kick in.

Having said that, if your workforce is typical compared to national demographics there are health risks and costs you face. For every 100 employees you can expect:
* 25 to have cardio vascular disease;
* 12 asthma;
* 6 diabetes;
* 26 high blood pressure;
* 30 high cholesterol;
* 38 overweight;
* 21 smoke;
* 31 use alcohol excessively;
* 24 don’t exercise;
* 44 suffer from stress;

To pay for rising healthcare employers have increased copays and deductibles and switched providers. This has only restrained costs for awhile so employers are now working to motivate employees to live a healthier lifestyle through wellness programs. Impressively 62% of all companies offer them. This is great news!

The National Business Group on Health in 2005 documented the many benefits organizations realize after implementing workplace wellness programs. Below they’re listed in order of their benefit:
* Increased morale, 56%;
* Employee health improvement, 41%;
* Reduce health care costs, 27%;
* Reduce accidents on the job, 9%;
* Reduce absenteeism, 8%;
* Increase productivity, 8%;

So is an employer’s return on investment worth the cost of a wellness program? What is the savings per dollar invested? Many published studies on worksite wellness found that the ROI is $3.48:1 due to reduced medical costs and $5.82:1 due to reduced absenteeism. (Sources: Aldana, SG, 2001, and Chapman, LS, 2005)

But after all is said and done, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.” Will your employees drink from the wellness stream? After all, the improvement in our health must ultimately be done by us individually, my topic for next week.

Jacquelyn Ferguson, M. S., is an international speaker and a Stress and Wellness Coach. Order her book, Let Your Body Win: Stress Management Plain & Simple, at http://www.letyourbodywin.com/bookstore.html. Email her to request she speak to your organization at jferg8@aol.com.