Health Spending Soars For Obesity
According to an article in
USA Today, private health insurance spending on illnesses related to obesity has increased more than tenfold since 1987, according to the first research to quantify the trend.
The growth in obesity has fueled a dramatic increase in the amount spent treating diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol and other weight-related illnesses, says the study, which is published today in Health Affairs, an online journal of health policy and research.
Overall, employers and privately insured families spent $36.5 billion on obesity-linked illnesses in 2002, up from an inflation-adjusted $3.6 billion in 1987. That's up from 2% of total health care spending on obesity in 1987 to 11.6% in 2002, the latest year for which data are available
22 Employers Receive Inaugural Awards for Combating Obesity, Promoting Healthy Workplaces
As many corporations seek to “trim the fat” to create a healthier bottom line, many of those who have done so literally are being recognized for their innovative efforts to battle obesity and promote a healthy work environment.
“We are very pleased to honor 22 U.S. employers that have achieved these high standards and successfully implemented lifestyle improvement programs designed to reduce obesity and encourage healthier living for their employees,” said Helen Darling, President of the National Business Group on Health. “Their leaders are visionary and know how critical it is that large employers support their employees’ efforts to choose healthier lifestyles.”
“Obesity is a critical driver of health care costs in America,” said LuAnn Heinen, director of the Institute on the Costs and Health Effects of Obesity. “An overweight and obese workforce costs U.S. employers more than $13 billion annually. We are delighted to recognize these organizations that are taking an active role in combating this problem.”
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Best Employers For Healthy Lifestyles
Ready To Invest Your Health-Care Dollars?
Many Americans will soon be able to invest their HSA dollars in mutual funds, just like they would with, say, dollars held in an IRA.
In fact, large brokerage houses, like Mellon Financial and JPMorgan Chase, have already partnered up with major health insurers like WellChoice and Cigna to begin offering equity-based savings options for these types of accounts.
Because these accounts are funded with pretax money — and withdrawals are tax free — HSAs are among the best savings vehicles around.
For more on this topic, click on
Smart Money.
Health Saving Accounts Catch Small Biz Interest
According to an article written in the BizJournal, health savings accounts will become the most popular type of health insurance for small businesses in a few years, insurance experts say.
They say President Bush's proposals to expand tax breaks for HSAs would accelerate a trend already occurring as small businesses look for relief from years of double-digit premium hikes for traditional insurance.
"They've caught on like wildfire, in the small market especially," said Mary Nell Lehnhard, senior vice president of the Blue Cross and Blue Sheild Association.
"We're inundated with requests on how HSAs work," said Roy Ramthun, the U.S. Department of Treasury's senior adviser for health initiatives.
Tips on Safe Sunning
To prevent premature aging, sun damage, and skin cancer, you need to protect yourself and your family from the harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays of the sun.
Sunscreen alone will not protect you. You need to use a total program to reduce the sun's harmful effects.
Follow these helpful tips:
Apply a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher, and reapply it every two hours according to the directions on the label.
Reapply sunscreen as needed after swimming, sweating or towel drying. Sunscreen is even recommended on cloudy days.
Avoid the sun during the middle of the day, especially between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the atmosphere absorbs less of the harmful UV rays of sunlight than earlier or later in the day.
Wear a wide-brimmed hat, protective clothing, and sunglasses.
Never leave children exposed to the sun without adequate protection. Because of the long time it takes for cancer to develop, studies suggest that over-exposure early in life may lead to skin cancers later in life.
Bush Touts Medicare Prescription Drug Plan
President Bush hit the road on Friday to help convince seniors that the new Medicare prescription drug benefit available in January is "a good deal."
After traveling the nation for months pitching his ideas for changing Social Security, Bush this week started another campaign — one aimed specifically at seniors to herald new drug coverage under Medicare that begins Jan. 1.
Bush urged caregivers, sons and daughters and community and faith-based groups to help seniors understand what's available and encourage seniors to fill out the four-page forms so they can take advantage of the prescription drug benefit.
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Associated Press.
Health Costs Leveling Off
How many times have you heard health care costs are rising at record rates? This is not the case according to an article in the
Washington Times.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports health care costs rose 71/2 percent in 2004, well under the 11.4 percent rise in 2002.
The BLS also reports cost increases for employers for health insurance per employee per hour worked has slowed even more.
From March 2001 to March 2002, those costs rose 11 percent; from March 2002 to March 2004, it rose 9 percent each year. But from March 2004 to December 2004, it rose only 3 percent.
Politicians and political commentators always assume government must do something new and different if health-care costs are to be held to bearable increases.
But the evidence is that health-care costs are being held down by the marketplace, partly in response to health-care legislation passed in the last four years.
Female Employees Need Targeted Information About Heart Disease Risk, Prevention
Women are increasingly aware of cardiovascular disease, their No. 1 killer, but many aren't doing enough to prevent it, physicians and other health experts say.
As the workforce ages, bad habits such as smoking and physical inactivity could mean heartache for employers in the form of steep medical bills and lost productivity.
According to
Benefitnews, what was long considered a condition of middle-aged men, cardiovascular disease in fact affects more women.
Of the 70.1 million American adults with this chronic condition in 2002, 37.6 million (54%) were women, according to the American Heart Association (AHA).
"It's an under-recognized problem for women, so screening and early treatment are important," says Dr. Sharonne Hayes, director of the Women's Heart Clinic at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Insured people help pay for extra costs from uninsured patients
According to an article in the
Washington Report, if you're wondering why your health insurance costs seem to be so expensive, there appears to be a good explanation. A new analysis shows health care costs among the uninsured are forcing insured Alaska families to shell out more money.
A patient heads to the emergency room. Although the person is a total stranger to you, you still could end up helping pay for the patient's medical care because he or she is uninsured.
Bottom line, the cost gets passed onto insured patients through higher insurance premiums. That's a conclusion from a new report issued today by Families USA, an organization that advocates for affordable health care for all Americans.
Using Hand-free Devices While Driving Is Still Dangerous
Highway safety advocates warn people that if you’re driving and talking on a cell phone, you could cause an accident. Also, that accident can occur even if you're using a hands-free device.
It's not the act of holding a phone that's the distraction; it's not paying attention to what you're doing in the car that distracts you.
Despite having both hands on the wheel, when you're talking on a headset, you're thinking about your conversation -- and that could take you mind off of what's ahead on the road. And if you're not thinking about what's ahead on the road, you're not driving safely.
AAA says it's OK to use a cell phone at a stop light to ask for directions or to tell someone you're running late, but Clarence Ditlow of the Center for Auto Safety says drivers need to be even more restrictive.
Study: Care For Uninsured Raises Premiums
The
Washington Post reports, providing health care for the uninsured increases the annual cost of insurance premiums for the average worker by $341 and for the average family by $922, according to a study by a group promoting universal health insurance.
Families USA says its study shows the problem is not restricted to the tens of millions of uninsured Americans. Rather, the problem affects everyone, because the insured subsidize the cost of care given the uninsured."
Uwe Reinhardt, a professor at Princeton University, said universal health coverage would raise costs even more for those currently insured.
Reinhardt said the uninsured would be likely to go to a doctor more frequently if they had coverage. He's skeptical that taxpayers would be willing to pay the added cost.
An Apple A Day, You Know What They Say
According to an article published by American Fitness, eating a couple apples a day may significantly lower one's chance of developing heart disease, reports a study of health benefits of fiber consumption.
In an evaluation of 10 studies measuring fiber in the diets of 91,058 men and 245,186 women over six to 10 years, nine out of 10 studies reported an inverse association between fiber consumption and risk of heart disease.
For every 10 grams of fiber consumed per day, the risk of developing heart disease decreased 14 percent, and the risk of dying from heart disease decreased 27 percent.
Fiber from fruits, such as apples, appeared to be slightly more protective than cereal fiber, lowering the risk of coronary disease death by 30 percent.
Health Savings Accounts May Be Just The Ticket for Entrepreneurs
Anyone can use HSAs, but experts believe they are particularly well-suited for the self-employed.
"Entrepreneurs trade off the risk of paying out a couple of thousand dollars in tax-sheltered money in order to protect themselves from catastrophic costs," says Leon Rousso, a certified financial planner in Ventura, Calif.
Brad Rosley, who has a wife and three children, also a financial planner in Glen Ellyn, Ill., made the switch. His previous health insurance policy to cover his family cost him $660 a month, or nearly $8,000 a year, with a deductible of $1,000.
Rosley replaced that plan with an HSA. He went for a policy with a $5,100 deductible and put that much into the tax-sheltered account for a family. His premium for the policy is $260 a month, or $3,120 annually.
He uses the $400 a month he's saving over the previous policy to fund his HSA. Rosley figures he could well end up with a six-figure account, since any money left in the HSA can be rolled over from year to year.
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HSA's
High Deductibles Gain Acceptance
According to the Los Angeles Times, as medical costs keep climbing, high-deductible plans are spreading to the giant corporations that have been the backbone of traditional job-related, low-deductible health insurance.
What suddenly makes such plans attractive to workers is that many are caught in a painful bind: In recent years, pay increases have been small at best, while employers have been requiring workers to pay a larger share of their health insurance premiums.
It's not uncommon for higher payroll deductions for health care to more than offset any pay raises. With the high-deductible plan, workers pay lower monthly premiums, and their employers commonly help them build up a special savings account to cushion the impact of a larger annual deductible.
The accounts are controlled by the employees, which has led insurers and employers to label the plans "consumer-directed."
"You're beginning to see a lot of growth in these plans, not because they're going to solve America's health care challenge, but because it's a way for employers to cut their out-of-control benefit costs," said Robert Laszewski, a consultant to health insurance companies.
Employees Achieve Health, Exchange Pounds For Cash
A workout a day keeps the doctor away - and health insurance costs, as well.
That's the mantra adopted by Progressive Medical Inc., a Westerville-based health- care insurance coordinator.
Progessive has implemented a health and fitness incentive program for its employees by giving them inexpensive memberships to local athletic clubs, access to health and fitness seminars and the potential to reduce their health insurance premiums.
So how does an employer motivate an employee to live a healthier lifestyle? To read more click on
money.
Rx For Change
The
San Antonio Business Journal reports that in recent years, insurance companies have introduced consumer driven plans tied to Health Reimbursement Accounts -- all in an effort to help drive down costs of insurance for employers.
Next year promises to be no different as employers face even more options, and details of existing plans change.
Last year, the federal government introduced Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), and many insurers were ready with consumer driven plans that could be used in conjunction with the HSA."
Nationwide HSA-HDHPs are gaining popularity with individuals as well as employers, and as more insurers add on new HSA-HDHP products, the numbers are only expected to grow.
States Hit Public Employees With Smoking Surcharge
As private and public sector employers increasingly target smoking as a key contributor to rising health care costs, some states are telling their workers to kick the habit or pay the price.
Under Georgia’s program, state workers during open enrollment will be asked, "Have you or any of your dependents used tobacco products in the previous 12 months?"
Individuals who report tobacco use will incur a flat surcharge of $40 a month during upcoming plan year, regardless of frequency of use in the prior year.
The policy relies on the honor system, and there are no mechanisms in place for tobacco testing. Employees found to be concealing tobacco use risk of losing medical coverage for one year.
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Business Insurance.
