Employers Adopt Chronic Disease Management Programs
Filed under: Health Benefit Costs, Health Care Plans, Private Insurance
Photo by wwarby via Flickr
Kaiser Family Foundation reports another option for employers attempting to keep health insurance programs affordable.
KFF states:
“Eighty percent of large U.S. companies this year are offering chronic disease management programs for workers in an effort to reduce health care costs, up from 51% last year, according to a new survey by Hewitt Associates, the Houston Chronicle reports. Hewitt surveyed 343 large companies and found that more employers are targeting costly chronic diseases — such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma and depression — rather than workers’ eating or exercise habits. Hewitt estimates that a company with 9,500 workers and 500 retirees younger than age 65 spends between $18 million to $22 million on health care just for those with diabetes.”
Companies are managing chronic disease “by offering employees personal health coaches, on-site health clinics and copayment waivers for needed medications.”
Compared to consumer-directed health plans, chronic disease management is a relatively uncontroversial approach to lowering health care costs for employers. As we’ve noted in a recent post, “Twenty-five percent of the U.S. community population were reported to have one or more of five major chronic conditions.” Not only does chronic disease management focus on preventative care and employees’ long-term health, employers are saving money in the short-term. The results, although varying, are generally successful, with employers “spending 10% to 30% less per year on medical care after two to five years (Sixel, Houston Chronicle, 4/2).” The short-term savings could lead to healthier employees, higher productivity and long-term savings.
The Houston Chronicle reports that:
According to Joseph Jasser, regional medical director for Houston for Concentra, an industrial medicine and urgent care provider, “If you can change their lifestyle — cut out smoking, eat better and exercise — then they’re healthier and companies end up spending less for medical care.”
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