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Diabetes Wellness Programs Can Boost Productivity, Reduce Costs

by Inoventive Solutions
August 23, 2022

Physicians and employee health experts are increasingly recommending that employers include diabetes screening, prevention and management in their company-sponsored wellness programs.

Diabetes — known as the “silent killer” — afflicts more than 29 million Americans, or 9% of the population.

Type 2 diabetes — or adult-onset diabetes — accounts for about 90% to 95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is associated with older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, history of gestational diabetes, impaired glucose metabolism, physical inactivity, and race/ethnicity.

The fallout from the disease has a significant impact on businesses as it can lead to stress, depression and a number of other health problems, including cancer, stroke and heart issues. That in turn leads to lost productivity for you as well as presenteeism, or the dilemma of a worker being at work but not being productive.

Medical costs and costs related to time away from work, disability and premature death that were attributable to diabetes totaled $245 billion in 2019, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Of that total, $69 billion was due to lost productivity.

With these statistics in mind, it’s imperative that employers help their workers manage their diabetes. Helping them get diabetes under control or helping them avoid developing the disease can keep your productivity strong, reduce your workers’ comp claims and also chip away at your health insurance expenses thanks to lower premiums.

Diabetes means decreased productivity

Of the roughly $69 billion that U.S. employers lost in 2019 from decreased productivity due to diabetes:

  • $21.6 billion was from the inability to work as a result of diabetes.
  • $20.8 billion was from presenteeism.
  • $18.5 billion was from lost productive capacity due to early mortality.
  • $5 billion was from missed workdays.
  • $2.7 billion was from reduced productivity for those not in the labor force.

Prevention and management

Employers can help by providing their employees with a voluntary diabetes management and prevention program. This wellness benefit can take many forms.

The Integrated Benefits Institute during an annual forum recently held a session highlighting what some employers are doing to educate their workers on how to manage diabetes:

  • The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has partnered with the American Diabetes Association to deliver educational seminars on diabetes to its workforce.
    The agency also offers as part of its diabetes program health risk and orthopedic assessments, glucose and cholesterol screenings, nutritional counseling, exercise classes and a walking club. (Since the transport agency’s wellness plan provider initiated the diabetes program, its workers’ comp claims have also fallen.)
  • Caterpillar, Inc. found diabetes to be one of its primary cost drivers, so it now provides incentives for employee risk assessments and care management. For example, half of the employees in its diabetes management program reduced their A1C levels (a measure of diabetes control), while 96% reported measuring these levels regularly and 72% reported meeting recommended activity levels.
  • The City of Asheville, NC, used local pharmacists to coach employees on how to manage diabetes. More than 50% of those in the program experienced improved A1C levels, and the number of employees with diabetes that achieved optimal levels increased.
  • Vanderbilt University expanded a pilot program of intensive exercise and nutrition that helped employees with diabetes improve cholesterol and blood sugar. About 25% of the employees were able to stop taking their diabetes medications.
  • The Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund works with its health insurer to offer its employees access to diabetes prevention and control programs. Employees voluntarily participate in worksite health screenings. Those who have pre-diabetes can attend YMCA-led diabetes prevention programs either at work or in the community.

The takeaway

Having a diabetes wellness program among your voluntary benefit offerings can help your employees avoid diabetes or manage it if they already have the disease. That helps not only their health, but also your bottom line.

If you would like to know more about educating your employees about diabetes and helping those with pre-diabetes or diabetes manage their condition, call us.

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Workers Cite Health Benefits as a Top Factor When Accepting a Job

by Inoventive Solutions
June 3, 2022

Despite the job market upheaval and intense competition for talent, there is a mismatch between the value that human resources executives and job prospects put on employee benefits, according to a new survey.

One in five workers surveyed said that health care and health insurance are a major factor when deciding to accept a job, compared with only 13% of human resources executives, according to the “2022 Health at Work” survey by Quest Diagnostics.

And when asked to cite the top two factors for attracting and retaining workers, 50% of employees cited comprehensive health insurance, making it the highest-rated factor. That’s compared with only 37% of HR executives.

While making more money was still the top reason for looking for new work, the results illustrate the importance of health benefits and that employers are not as tuned into their employees’ needs as they think they are.

But the one issue hanging over all employee benefits, particularly health insurance, is the costs. Employees are now expecting employers to do more to control these costs, particularly as premiums are expected to increase as more people are dealing with chronic conditions and delayed treatment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That should be a wake-up call for employers.

Here are some of the approaches that employers are taking:

Pay a fixed amount to an employee’s total premium — In this scenario you agree to pay a set amount towards the premium regardless of which plan your worker chooses. If they choose one with more generous benefits and lower out-of-pocket costs, they’ll pay more out of pocket than if they choose a plan with a lower premium. You can choose either a flat rate or a specific percentage of total premium.

Offer narrow network health plans — Employees who sign up for these plans can only receive care and services from providers in the plan’s network. If they go out of network, it will likely not be covered and the employee has to pay for the costs out of pocket.

And because the network is narrow, meaning the insurer doesn’t contract with a number of different providers, premiums are usually lower, but still offer quality care.

Offer wellness programs — If implemented properly, these programs can help your workers improve their overall health through lifestyle change. There are a number of wellness programs with a focus on a variety of areas, such as smoking cessation, weight loss, exercise programs and activities, and health screenings.

These are all programs aimed at preventing disease and poor health, reducing the need for expensive medical care later.

Offer a telemedicine option — Virtual care services have exploded during the last two years and more plans are covering these services.

Offering telemedicine as part of your benefits package can lead to substantial cost savings as it allows your employees to access health care professionals when they need them, 24/7. This can reduce the chances of trips to urgent care facilities and emergency rooms, which are both costly.

Offer HDHPs — High-deductible health plans tend to be less expensive than other plans because they shift more of the cost to the employee, who pays out of pocket in exchange for lower premiums.

Typically, employers will arrange for workers to contribute a portion of their pay, pre-tax, into a health savings account, which they can later use to pay for health services and medicine. The idea is that your employees will use the money they save on premiums and deposit it into the HSAs, which have a number of benefits:

  • Funds going into the accounts are not taxed,
  • Withdrawals are not taxed,
  • HSAs have an investment feature that lets account holders invest their funds, much like a 401(k) plan, and
  • Employees can keep the accounts, and even move them between employers.
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