Protecting your most valuable asset: your employees.

• Author: Stephens, Sally L.
• Position: Last Word

An organization's ability to attract, retain, protect, motivate and renew quality people is the most critical factor for long-term viability.

Today approximately 125 million Americans have chronic conditions and almost half of these have two or more. In 2002 our nation's healthcare costs reached $1.4 trillion or 14.1 percent of the GDP. With an average 15 percent annual increase, most benefit consultants are predicting that health insurance costs will double within the next five years and some are saying within the next three years.

More than 61 million Americans, approximately 24 percent of the U.S. population, have heart disease that costs our nation $298 billion in direct and indirect costs. Ten million Americans have diabetes at an annual cost of $132 billion. Research recently published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds treatment for obesity-related illnesses is a major driver of surging U.S. health-care costs, carrying a $93 billion annual tab, $12 million of which is charged to employers. According to the CDC, obesity-related health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, are gaining on smoking complications as the costliest preventable illnesses in the nation. It is also well documented that approximately 70 percent of all diseases are preventable.

Double-digit increases in health insurance costs combined with a troubled economy are challenging benefits managers to be more creative in designing their benefit plans. Most employers believe that changing plan design by increasing co-pays, deductibles and reducing benefits is not the only answer for controlling costs in the future. Many are turning to health-risk intervention programs as a way to proactively manage health-care costs while improving the health of their population.

Once considered a "warm and fuzzy" benefit, health improvement programs are now being considered the last resort for stabilizing health-insurance costs. Today more...