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Illness Is Just Too Expensive FACT... Cardiovascular disease is the nation’s number one killer of adults. An estimated 900,000 people die from heart-related illnesses every year. Of these, 225,000 are part of the general work force -- a death rate that is 13.5 times greater than that of industrial accidents. FACT... Lifestyle practices contribute significantly to health problems. Extensive clinical studies show that high blood pressure, elevated blood cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, lack of exercise and stress are risk factors for heart attack and stroke. FACT... 30.8 million workers (36.5% of the total workforce) have high blood pressure. 16.7 million workers (19.7%) are at high risk for hypertensive disease. 14.1 million workers (16.8%) are at increased risk. These workers between the ages of 45 and 74 have:
FACT... 26.7 million work days -- and $1.3 billion in earnings -- are lost annually to worker illness. FACT... Employers annually spend over $600 per worker with high blood pressure. FACT... Over $300 billion is spent on health care in the United States each year. Corporations pay the largest portion of this bill -- over $77 billion. FACT... In many businesses, the cost of medical insurance in the workplace is second only to wages among labor costs covered by employers -- and it’s continually escalating. FACT... Health promotions that include employee screenings help lower health care premiums and raise productivity. One study concluded that employers providing four or more health promotions reduced their overall cost per employee by approximately 31%.
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