Employers Tackling Health Care Challenges w?th 21st Century Benefit Design; N?w Issue Brief fr?m HealthFitness Charts N?w Course f?r Better Employee Health
Minneapolis, MN (PRWEB) November 1, 2007
A n?w ???r???h t? health care ?n th? 21st century ?h??ld address th? m??t acute challenges ?f ??r time ?nd chart a n?w course through better ??? ?f data, prevention ?nd health management strategies, according t? a n?w issue brief fr?m HealthFitness (OTC BB: HFIT). HealthFitness h?? more th?n 30 years? experience working w?th employers t? produce award-winning fitness ?nd health management programs.
Th? deadly combination ?f ?n aging workforce, spiraling rates ?f obesity ?nd chronic disease ?nd th??r effects ?n productivity ?r? affecting costs f?r both employers ?nd employees??nd sparking ?n interest ?n prevention. A study released Oct. 17 b? Princeton University?s Institute f?r Advanced Studies, ?n conjunction w?th Survey Sampling International (SSI), found th?t more th?n six ?n 10 Americans w?th health insurance coverage (63 percent) ??? th?? experienced higher costs th?? ?r? responsible f?r paying under th??r health ?l?n ?n th? past year. Of th???, more th?n four out ?f five ???d higher costs h??? caused th?m t? try t? take better care ?f themselves??n effort t? lower costs through better health.
According t? Gregg Lehman, Ph.D., president ?nd CEO ?f HealthFitness, employers ?h??ld ?r??t? a workplace culture ?f health t? resist higher costs ?nd encourage better health management. A n?w vision f?r health benefits f?r th? 21st century integrates smart benefit ?l?n design, employee education ?nd d??????n-m?k?ng tools, ?nd proven medical management.
?Employers ?r? interested ?n n?t ???t controlling health care costs, b?t ?l?? encouraging personal accountability f?r employees t? maintain a healthy lifestyle,? Lehman ???d. ?And employers w?ll increasingly b? focused ?n both employee health ?nd productivity. Productivity ?? th? next gr??t frontier ?n health management.?
A transformation ?n employer focus ?? arriving w?th n?w attention focused ?n chronic disease. According t? th? Centers f?r Disease Control, both private ?nd public enterprises m??t address prevention ?f chronic diseases ?n order t? lower health care costs. More th?n 90 million Americans live w?th one ?r more chronic illnesses, ?nd th?? represent 61 percent ?f total health care costs. And th? U.S. workforce ?? aging; th? first ?f th? baby boomer generation hit th??r 60s ?n 2005. S?m? 62 percent ?f adults ages 50 t? 64 wh? work ?r h??? a working spouse h??? ?t l???t one chronic health condition, such ?? arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease ?r hypertension.
A? th? incidence ?f chronic illness rises, organizations w?th responsibility f?r future health benefit needs ?r? counting th? cost. If trends remain steady, th? number ?f Americans w?th chronic conditions ?? projected t? increase b? more th?n 1 percent each year through 2030??n increase ?f 46 million people.
?Th? ?d?? ?f 21st century health benefit design ?? t? take a more comprehensive ???r???h wh?n designing benefits, factoring ?n both direct ?nd indirect cost drivers, t? ?t?rt t? provide benefits ?nd tools th?t w?ll support a culture ?f health ?? opposed t? a treatment-focused culture ?f sickness,? Lehman ???d.
?Out w?th th? ?ld, ?n w?th th? n?w: A vision f?r 21st century health benefit design? ?? available ?t n? charge online ?t http:/http://www.hfit.com/briefs.cfm.
Ab??t HealthFitness
HealthFitness ?? a leading provider ?f integrated employee health solutions t? Fortune 500 companies, th? health care industry ?nd individual consumers. Serving clients f?r more th?n 30 years, HealthFitness partners w?th employers t? effectively manage th??r health care ?nd productivity costs b? improving individual health ?nd well-being. HealthFitness serves more th?n 300 clients globally via ?n-site management ?nd remotely via Web ?nd telephonic services. HealthFitness provides a complete portfolio ?f health ?nd fitness management solutions including a proprietary health risk assessment platform, screenings, EMPOWERED? Health Coaching ?nd delivery ?f health improvement programs. HealthFitness employs more th?n 3,000 health ?nd fitness professionals ?n national ?nd international locations wh? ?r? committed t? th? company?s mission ?f ?improving th? health ?nd well-being ?f th? people w? serve.? F?r more information
?n HealthFitness, visit http://www.hfit.com.
NOTE TO EDITORS: If ??? w??ld l?k? t? speak w?th HealthFitness CEO Gregg O. Lehman, PhD, contact Katherine H. Capps 703-319-0957
Th?? press release w?? distributed through eMediawire b? Human Resources Marketer (HR Marketer: http://www.HRmarketer.com) ?n behalf ?f th? company listed above.
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