Why Bother With Wellness?

Since 2000, employee health insurance costs have increased 73% for U.S. businesses and for many employers; health insurance is the fastest-growing component of total expenses. A large portion of health care dollars are spent on the treatment of "lifestyle" conditions that are considered preventable, such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and stress. Effectively reducing the common risk factors leading to lifestyle-related conditions will dramatically impact health care costs over time.

The most significant cost driver to your health plan is likely an aging and increasingly unhealthy workforce. Companies of all sizes must understand that if they are not willing to proactively invest time and treasure to keep their workforce healthy, then they will be forced to invest much more to deal with the resulting illness. Study after study indicates that metabolic syndrome, increased blood pressure, elevated fasting blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, abnormal cholesterol levels and elevated triglyceride levels are highly associated with lifestyle and, therefore, can be prevented. Lifestyle-related conditions are also driving increased utilization of health plans and reliance on medications. Consider these facts:

• two-thirds of the U.S. workforce is overweight or obese, making them four times more likely to miss work.
• Three out of four workers report their job as stressful. Sixty percent of lost workdays are attributed to stress.
• There has been a 50% increase in the diagnosis of diabetes since 1997. A diabetic's medical expenses are 2.4 times those of a non-diabetic.
• Seventy percent of working Americans get little or no physical activity. Exercise has been shown to improve work performance, attendance and satisfaction.
• According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than 75% of employers' health care costs and productivity losses are related to employees' lifestyle choices.
• U.S. health care spending exceeds $2 trillion and is rising at a rate three times that of inflation.
• Health care spending in the U.S. is currently 16% of the GDP and is expected to reach 20% by 2015.
• Health insurance premiums have risen in excess of 9% annually for the past five years. The increased expense is impacting both employers and employees alike.