CLS Benefit Solutions Inc.: real incentives to change high-risk behaviors.

The numbers tell the story-and the numbers are staggering. Indiana holds the dubious distinction of simultaneously ranking in the top 15 in several categories of chronic disease and high-risk behavior and in the bottom 15 in identification and prevention activities for a number of health problems.

THE NUMBERS

Indiana's "Top 15" rankings:

No. 1 in the number of fast food restaurants per capita

No. 5 in percentage who smoke

No. 8 in percentage classified as obese

No. 12 in percentage diagnosed with diabetes

No. 15 in percentage diagnosed with heart disease

Indiana's "Bottom 15" rankings:

No. 36 in those getting cholesterol checks

No. 40 in those getting mammograms in the past two years

No. 41 in those who have ever had a colon screening

No. 44 in those getting annual physicals

And, although it's not a statistic that fits within the above categories, Indiana has one of the largest cardiology practices in the U.S. The cardiologists are here for obvious reasons.

(Sources: Indiana State Dept. of Health Behavior Risk Factor Survey; Centers for Disease Control; Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)

THE PROBLEM

The most recently published numbers show that the nation's health-care costs now exceed $1.6 trillion per year. Medical costs for chronic diseases, most of which are caused by the type of high-risk behavior typified by the rankings listed above, account for 60% of these costs. Add in the incidence of violent behavior or behavior that may cause injury (such as not wearing seat belts), and you start to get the picture.

Frequently, even after working with a number of insurance brokers or consulting firms, employers feel that they are being given "cookie cutter" solutions to their benefits dilemma. Many companies feel that they have lost control as they try to cope with constantly escalating costs and try to maneuver through the maze that the employee benefits situation has become. Employers are looking for a strategy that will help them move away from approaches like cost shifting, and allow them to deal with the...