The Economics of Poor Health
Most people sincerely want to do better when it comes to diet, exercise, and wellness. But you are not the only one interested in your health. Others who have a vested interest in you (and your lifestyle choices) are your employers and the government, because health care costs have skyrocketed the last ten years. One of the best ways to minimize those costs is to get people motivated to take better care of them selves. Let’s take a look at all three groups to see how health affects their bottom line.
You
Health and wealth go hand in hand. If you are healthy, you are not spending money on doctor visits, medications, and out-of-pocket expenses. You are also not losing wages for time off from work. I realize not all medical expenses are due to poor health choices. People have accidents, pick up infectious diseases, or inherit genetic risk factors such as high cholesterol. But making good choices is a huge first step towards better health. As Dr. David Herber, Director at the Center for Human Nutrition, UCLA says, “Genetics load the gun, but environment pulls the trigger.”
Obviously, diet and exercise are two of the biggest influences on your health. One of the easiest lifestyle changes you can make is to incorporate some kind of movement into your daily schedule. Let’s be real. Most people can find a half hour to go out and take a walk. It is a small (free) commitment that yields huge results. Take this quote to heart: “those who think they have no time for exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness” (E. Stanley).
Right now the “elephant” in the room, and I don’t mean that as a pun, is the obesity issue. As our obesity rates have soared, so have our medical costs. Obese people spend 42 percent more than people of normal weight on medical costs, a difference of about $1500. Obesity is a risk factor for almost every major disease, from heart disease to cancer to diabetes. Cutting down on portion sizes, cooking from scratch, choosing more plant foods, and moving your body will not only save money but help you look and feel better.
Employers
As the cost of providing health care has risen, some employers have resorted to employee-incentive programs to motivate their staff to lose weight and exercise. Ohio State University’s is Your Plan for Health (YPH). Our newest incentive is the challenge “Hit the Road.” Teams of five employees try to accumulate miles between now and December. There are four different tiers to strive for, with National Champion as the big “kahuna.” The top three winning teams receive a group lunch at OSU, a tour of the football stadium, and their choice of a treadmill, elliptical machine, or stationary bike. But for many businesses, there is no financial incentive to help their employees lose weight, because the average employee only stays on the job for 4.5 years. Diseases usually take longer than that to manifest. Companies that hold on to their employees for decades, such as government offices, schools and universities, and the auto industry, find it makes economic sense to financially reward their staff for taking better care of themselves.
Cash seems to talk. Surveys show that if you reward people with a cash option and decreases in the amount they pay towards their monthly benefits, they will work harder to get healthy. Giving me a $200 bonus in my paycheck based on my word of honor that I made positive changes is an expensive gamble if I don’t follow through. But if I and others do, the benefits to the university are enormous. Over 29,000 people work for OSU, and it is in all of our best interest to stay healthy. Just one procedure, like major heart surgery, can average $50-60,000. Even with insurance, the co-pay on that kind of procedure would be very expensive. Frankly, I think it’s easier to eat right and exercise than to pay thousands of dollars to try and fix my body after-the-fact.
Government
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates the cost of treatment for obesity-related diseases has soared to over $150 billion in the U.S. Wow. That is double what it was ten years ago. Excess weight is affecting not only the individuals who carry it, but the nation as a whole, because Medicare and Medicaid are carrying a large portion of that total.
CDC statistics for just our state show 6.1 percent of Ohioans are obese. The cost to treat their health issues (and this does not include people who are overweight) is a staggering $3.3 billion. The Medicare portion of that is $839 million, and the Medicaid side stands at $914 million. Those figures are limited to direct medical costs and not indirect costs (such as absenteeism and decreased productivity). That’s a lot of taxpayer dollars being used to support someone else’s lifestyle choices.
This is why I am so zealous about students and adults taking nutrition and food preparation courses and staying physically active. The more they learn about fixing and eating healthy food and moving their bodies, the better off we will be on all levels. Individuals will be healthier, employers will have more discretionary money to sink back into their business, and governments will be able to direct tax dollars into other, high-need areas of their budgets. It is a win-win-win situation.
Written By:
Donna Green
Family & Consumer Sciences Educator
Ohio State University Extension
