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Please help me find stats and hard data to back up this claim: Preventive care is good for U.S. businesses
Hello! Thanks for your question about statistical evidence proving that preventative medicine is good for business. The short version is that companies that offer preventative programs are seeing improvements in their bottom lines. According to the CDC, 25%-50% of corporate "annual medical care costs could be avoided" by offering employees preventative services. Wellness programs can increase productivity from 7%-13% and decrease costs from absenteeism by around $2.73 per dollar invested. Companies with good health and wellness programs saw their stocks rise by an average of 235% compared to just 159% over a six-year period. Below you will find a deep dive of my findings.
FINDINGS
In 2004, a Kaiser study learned that only ~7% of companies offered comprehensive wellness services with most offering flu shots and perhaps one or two other services. However, in 2012, a survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans showed that 70% of US businesses offer employee wellness services. In 2013, corporations spent on wellness was estimated at $6 billion with a forecast market size of exceeding $8 billion by 2017.
Corporate wellness and preventive programs skyrocketed after Obamacare was passed in 2010 because the law gave companies "incentives to embrace participatory wellness and prevention programs." Currently, it is commonplace for companies with more than 50 employees to offer preventative programs which can include health screenings (diabetes, HPV, breast cancer, etc), administration of flu shots, weight loss and smoking cessation classes, and gym memberships.
A wellness program with simple offerings like an annual physical examination can save employers’ anywhere from 26.1% to 32% in healthcare spending. However, the CDC "estimated that 25 to 50 percent of typical employers’ annual medical care costs could be avoided by addressing such things as physical activity, weight management, smoking cessation and preventive health care."
Parcelforce Worldwide saw an increase in productivity of almost 13% after they started offering on-site clinics and medical staff. "AstraZeneca saved up to £700,000 as a result of wellness programs, and much of this savings was tied to enhanced employee productivity...GlaxoSmithKline has increased employee performance and productivity by 7 to 13 percent," by offering simple programs like blood pressure monitoring. Other studies show that for each dollar an employer invests in preventative, programs, they can expect to see a cut in the costs of absenteeism of around $2.73.
BankOne saved $1,000 per year per employee. "Chippewa County, Wisconsin, cut expenditures on county employee healthcare by $500,000 following the implementation of wellness services."
The Society for Human Resource Management found that wellness programs save $1-3 per dollar spent in 2012. Health Affairs started a wellness program in 2010 which led to a reduction of $3.27 per dollar spent.
A 2016 study show that companies with good health and wellness program saw their stock rise by 235% compared to just 159% over a six-year period. According to Aetna, 26 companies "appreciated by 325% compared with the average appreciation of 105%for the Standard & Poor’s 500, based on a simulation study from 2000 to 2014."
One popular, preventative option for corporations is Fitbit. Fitbit's effect on business has been looked at in two studies. The Dayton Regional Transit Authority (RTA) had an self-insurance budget of $15.5 million in 2014. By launching a Fitbit program, they saved $2.3 million in two years and employees saw improved LDL and blood glucose levels. The second study was done by Springbuk that found healthcare costs averaged "24.5% less than that of [the] control group’s – an average cost savings of nearly $1,300 per participant during the 2nd year of the program. This is a significantly wider gap than the cost differential observed for the same individuals during the baseline year in which average costs for the opt-in group were only 7.9% less than that of a control group. Of those who opted into the program, 266 employees who used their Fitbit tracker for at least half the duration of the program decreased their healthcare costs by 45.6% on average."
CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, corporate wellness programs are good for U.S. businesses because they lead to increased in stock values, decreased in long-term spending, and decreased costs related to absenteeism. Thanks for using Wonder! Please let us know if we can help with anything else!