September 2010

22 Sep 2010

Employee Wellness is a Positive Force for Health Care in 2011

According to a survey conducted by Towers Watson, the future of health care costs is expected to rise substantially for both employers and employees. 

In January 2010, I was asked by IHRSA to share my vision of the fitness industry with 30 other leaders and business people in “Ask an Industry Leader.”  The overall tone of the resulting publication was optimistic and hopeful.  In the past, the emphasis on health care was to help employees recover from disease.  For 2010, the Leaders all shared a common theme of shifting the emphasis from illness to prevention and wellness; the prevention of disease.

As 2010 draws to a close, the Towers Watson survey casts a grim shadow over continued optimism for next year.  The survey included 466 mid-sized to large companies and projected an overall 8.2% rise in health care costs in 2011.  Employers, faced with rising costs and the arrival of health care reform, say they need to raise the annual maximum amount employees pay for health care costs.   U.S. employees have already experienced reductions in annual raises and job benefits.  The projected jump in costs will most likely produce hardship and a wide gap of affordability for many employees.

If you believe in the power of prevention, however, good news still exists for 2011 according to Ralph Fontanetta, Senior Health Care Consultant with Towers Watson. 86% of U.S. employers plan to increase efforts to encourage employees to engage in wellness/health promotion programs with 65% already or planning to increase incentives for these programs. 94% will continue offering employer-sponsored health care plans for active employees.

We need to stay the course.  The “We” includes employers, health insurance companies, the wellness industry and the employees we serve.  It’s encouraging that employers will continue to offer wellness programs to their employees because it is a promising and positive alternative.   In this day and age, we know that exercise and diet have a direct correlation to preventing disease, promoting health and lowering the cost of health care.  The National Cancer Institute says that heart disease, the number one killer in our country today, is largely influenced by what we eat. Some cancers, stroke, diabetes, and high blood pressure can all be prevented by lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise. 

We’re far from the end of the battle but hope endures. We must follow.

09 Sep 2010

When is an Ounce of Prevention Worth a Pound of Money?

2010 has been a big year for food borne illness.  We’ve experienced massive recalls and warnings for locally produced eggs, breakfast cereals, and green, leafy vegetables. 

In March of this year, a study by a former FDA economist and current Ohio State University assistant professor in the department of consumer science, Dr. Robert L. Scharff estimates that “produce (fresh, canned and processed) accounts for roughly 19,700,000 of the reported illnesses documented, at a cost of approximately $1,960 per case and $39 billion annually in economic losses.” The study was funded by the Pew Charitable Trust.

Depending on the specific cause or  pathogen, food borne illness can result in a range of reactions from uncomfortable to death, or anything in between such as the loss of ability to return to work or function normally in society.  Callous as considering your bottom line may sound when it comes to potential illness or death, even sick days directly affect your company.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that approximately 76 million new cases of food-related illness — resulting in 5,000 deaths and 325,000 hospitalizations — occur in the U.S. each year. According to makeourfoodsafe.org, California pays an unbelievable annual $18,613,000,000 in aggregate medical costs.  New York pays an annual $10,375,000,000.

According to Erik Olson, of the Pew Health Group, “This report makes it clear that gaps in our food safety system are causing significant health and economic impacts.”  

Health and economic impacts, most certainly.  Those numbers, as with any other vastly devastating physical issues, such as obesity and the resulting diseases; i.e. cardiovascular disease and diabetes, can and should be reduced by prevention.  Food borne illness prevention calls for education.  Education comes from a comprehensive wellness program that teaches your employees the basics about food safety, how to clean, separate, cook and chill food, whether it’s necessary to spend more for organic to keep their families safe, how to store leftovers, and what to do in the event of a poisoning or emergency.   

As always, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.