NIOSH Conference Stresses Impact of
Health Care Costs and Productivity on the Economy
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health held its NIOSH WorkLife 2007: A Symposium on Protecting and Promoting Worker Health Conference September 10-11 in Bethesda, Maryland. Co-sponsored by the CDC, HHS, and over 30 national health and safety interest groups, and Fortune 500 Companies, the conference addressed the issues of health in the workplace, through workplace programs and policies to prevent injury and disease and promote health.
The theme “The health of the American economy depends on the health and productivity of the workforce” focused on the need for U.S. business to double its current level of productivity to maintain our current level of economic prosperity—a major challenge in light of the negative impact of rising health care costs on levels of productivity.
- Stress is acknowledged as a costly major health risk factor,one which drives up health care costs, and turnover, while reducing productivity. The Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO) a national, research-oriented, not-for-profit, coalition of organizations with common interests in health promotion, disease management, and health related productivity research has found that 46% of the Nation’s workers report high stress on the job.
About HERO http://www.the-hero.org/about/index.htm
- Prevention is the most cost effective intervention. Employers agree that healthy employees are more productive and less costly to insure. Research conducted by Dr. Dee Eddington, Director at the University of Michigan's Health Management Research Center demonstrates that maintaining individuals at the “healthy” or “low-risk” category, helps mitigate health care cost escalation.
Read more about the Business Case for keeping worker’s healthy :
http://www.hmrc.umich.edu/research/current.html
- Effective measurement of the costs associated with ill-health is a challenge. Businesses vary in their approaches to justifying health, safety and environmental investments. Research design complexities and internal frictions often result in programs which don’t effectively reduce the burden of illness, or increase productivity and the company’s return on program investment.
The National Business Group on Health, a consortium comprised primarily of Fortune 500 companies – including the nation's most innovative health care purchasers has developed the EMPAQ® Metric = Employer Measures of Productivity, Absence and Quality. EMPAQ® is the result of an ambitious effort to allow employers to measure and evaluate the cost effectiveness of disability and absence management programs through a set of standardized definitions and metrics.
About EMPAQ® http://www.businessgrouphealth.org/management/index.cfm
Symposium organizers ultimately expect that attendees will use the knowledge and information gained as tools to create and implement integrated programs to improve the health of workers and workplaces.
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NIOSH Conference
