Taming the Top Drivers of Health Premiums and Workers Compensation Claims

The health status of your workforce is inextricably linked not only to your annual healthcare premiums but also your increasing workers compensation claims costs. The three most prevalent behaviors and conditions impacting your costs today are: obesity, diabetes, and tobacco use. What are you doing to prevent these costly conditions from sinking your profit margin? Obesity According to an Obesity and Workers Compensation Study conducted by Duke University, obese workers (dened as those with a body mass index of 30 or higher) signicantly increase cost to employers through lost productivity and abundant medical claims. Obese employees have 13 times more lost workdays than employees at a healthy weight Obese employees le twice as many workers compensation claims with medical costs seven times more than claims by non-obese employees Obese employees incur 21% higher group health care costs than their co-workers maintaining a healthy weight Diabetes According to Diabetes America, the number of individuals in the U.S. diagnosed with diabetes is expected to reach 40 million by 2015. This will undoubtedly be a huge cost contributor to our collective medical and productivity costs. Employees with diabetes have up to 11 more absences per year than non-diabetics The median workers compensation claims for employees with diabetes are ve times higher than employees with no co-morbidities
References: Coventry Workers Compensation Services, Inc. (2010). The Impact of Co-morbid Conditions on Workers Compensation Medical Costs. Retrieved on August 3, 2012 from http://www.coventrywcs.com/web/groups/public/@cvty_workerscomp_coventrywcs/documents/webcontent/c054910.pdfDiabetes America (2011). Employers, Retrieved on August 3, 2012 from www.diabetesamerica.com/employers.cfm Hoffman, D. (2006). Workplace Smoking Has Hidden Costs, Business CourierJune 5, 2006. Ostbye, T. Et al., (2007). Obesity and Workers Compensation: Results from the Duke Health and Safety Surveillance SystemArchives of Internal Medicine April 23, 2007. Pearson, J. (2012). Smokers and Your Companys Bottom Line, Business Know How, Retrieved on August 3, 2012 from http://www.businessknowhow.com/manage/smokers.htm

Tobacco Use Tobacco use including cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco, is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States. This behavior poses a serious cost threat to your company! Smokers have twice the lost productivity per week than non-smokers Smokers cost employers $2,189 annually in workers compensation costs, compared with $176 for non-smokers Compared to non-smokers, smokers are 50% more likely to be hospitalized and have 15% higher disability rates USI is equipped to help you understand the economics of your employees health status and its impact on your bottom line. Our Health & Wellness Management team offers a wide-range of consulting expertise including a Regional Wellness Consultant and Wellness Coordinator, Account Services, Analytics, and in-house ERISA Counsel. Let us help you put an action plan in place today to reverse your expenditures for these preventable cost drivers!

USI | Wellness Solutions for a Healthier Workforce

Mark Converse, CEBS, CWWPC / Regional Health & Wellness Consultant/Advisor Cell: 401.338.4616 Mark.Converse@usi.biz Doug Person / Vice President of Loss Control 781.376.2752 Doug.Person@usi.biz