America's Healthcare Crisis — What Businesses Can Do
Health insurance costs are the fastest-growing expense for employers. Employer health insurance costs overtook profits in 2008, and the gap grows steadily. National Coalition on Health Care
If employers are not focusing on lifestyle, they are not managing the major contributor to healthcare costs. Wellness Council of Wisconsin
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic disease accounts for 70% of all deaths; medical care costs of people with chronic diseases account for more than 75% of the nation's $2 trillion medical care costs, and 90% of chronic disease conditions are preventable. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.Chronic Disease Overview.
Sixty-five percent of the adult population in the United States can be reached through worksites, which makes businesses ideal settings for implementing strategies for reducing overweight and obesity, according to a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report.
"The obesity epidemic is a big contributor to the skyrocketing healthcare costs in the United States. How are we going to compete with the rest of the world if our economy and workforce are weighed down by bad health?"
