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Improve Health and Lower Costs

Estimating your preventable health care costs

1. Based on the average outcomes of our health promotion clients, we can estimate that each of your employees has 3.5 risk factors related to cholesterol, blood pressure, weight, diet, exercise, smoking, alcohol and/or stress. If you are in the trucking or manufacturing industry, your average employee probably has 7 risk factors.
   
   
2. The HERO study (46,000 participants, 2000), estimates that each risk factor costs an extra $320-500 per year. Multiply your total number of employees x 3.5 (or 7) risk factors x $320-500 to estimate your annual risk factor cost.
   
   
3. Based on medical and prescription claims for our own 7,000 Community Health Network employees in 2004, the extra annual cost per risk factor per year is blood pressure: $540; cholesterol: $180; glucose: $2,844; Body Mass Index: $1,404.
   
   
4. Indiana Health Care Statistics for Adults (Henry Kaiser Foundation and Hoosier’s Health Handbook: Indianapolis Star, 2005):
   
   Smoking: Indiana is the 6th highest in the nation. 24.8% are smokers and 54% of these have tried to quit. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that each smoker costs employers $3,856 extra per year in premiums and other expenses.
   
   Overweight: Indiana is the 4th most obese state in the nation. 58% are overweight or obese.
   
   Diabetes: 7.8% of Hoosiers have diabetes.
   
   Exercise: 26% of Hoosiers report no physical activity.
   
   
5. Return on Investment
   We can estimate your health care costs and return on investment based on our own health promotion clients and national data.