Hidden costs.A new report by Santa Monica-based think tank Milken Institute should give more impetus for employers to take steps to take action; to move in a matter. See also: Step to improve the health of their employees. The report attempts to better quantify the toll that chronic disease takes on the workplace--and suggests steps employers can take to lower the physical and monetary costs. The cost to the U.S. economy of treatment and lost productivity caused by chronic illnesses among U.S. residents is more than $1.3 trillion per year, and could rise to $6 trillion by 2050, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the study, "An Unhealthy America: The Economic Burden of Chronic Disease." Though California is among the healthiest states in the nation, there were more than 16.3 million cases of seven common chronic diseases reported in 2003, the most recent period for which statistics are available, the study found. Just those seven diseases--cancers, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension hypertension or high blood pressure, elevated blood pressure resulting from an increase in the amount of blood pumped by the heart or from increased resistance to the flow of blood through the small arterial blood vessels (arterioles). , stroke, mental disorders mental disorders: see bipolar disorder; paranoia; psychiatry; psychosis; schizophrenia. , and pulmonary pulmonary /pul·mo·nary/ (pool´mo-nar?e) 1. pertaining to the lungs. 2. pertaining to the pulmonary artery. pul·mo·nar·y adj. Of, relating to, or affecting the lungs. conditions--cost California patients, their families and employers more than $133 billion annually. And close to 98 percent of those costs were from lost productivity as opposed to treatment. A big chunk of those costs stem from what study author Ross DeVol calls "presenteeism Presenteeism is the opposite of absenteeism. In contrast to absenteeism, when employees are absent from work illegitimately, presenteeism discusses the problems faced when employees come to work in spite of illness, which can have similar negative repercussions on business "--when employees come to work but aren't able to give 100 percent because of their ailment ail·ment n. A physical or mental disorder, especially a mild illness. . DeVol, director of the Milken Center for Health Economics. said the report ought to motivate employers to insist employee benefit providers make health screenings, chronic disease management and wellness programs an affordable and accessible part of the options offered to their employees. "It is in an employer's best interests to play a key role in encouraging their employees to live healthier lives," DeVol said. The study estimates that programs that emphasize lifestyle changes, along with prevention and early detection of disease, could reduce the number of illnesses by 40 million cases nationally and save $1.6 trillion by the year 2023. Staff reporter Deborah Crowe can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 232, or at dcrowe@labusinessjournal.com. |
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