Health Reform Debate: Advocates Urge Congress to Learn from Examples of Disease Management Programs Working in Ohio

Many Ohio Employers Achieve Cost Savings, Improved Health Outcomes Through
Disease Management and Wellness Programs
COLUMBUS, Ohio--(Business Wire)--
As Congress debates the future of health care in the United States, several Ohio
health advocates are pointing to the success of health management programs
underway at workplaces throughout the state. A number of employers are achieving
reduced costs and improved health outcomes for employees, through programs that
emphasize wellness and disease management.

"The example of what`s working at workplaces throughout Ohio and the nation
needs to be taken into account by members of Congress as they debate health
reform legislation," said Joe San Filippo, chief health care strategist for
Nationwide Better Health. "Because of programs that emphasize wellness and
prevention, large and small employers are seeing decreases in health care costs
and absenteeism, and increases in overall employee health."

The Ohio chapter of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) is urging
members of Ohio`s Congressional delegation to learn from the experience of local
employers. In the health reform debate, the PFCD advocates for provisions that
address the impact of chronic disease. Chronic conditions such as heart disease,
diabetes, obesity, asthma, cancer, hypertension and depression account for 75
percent of all health care spending nationally. In Ohio, it is estimated that
more than half the population has a chronic illness.

An example of a large Ohio-based employer with a robust, successful health and
wellness program in place is Nationwide.

"From the inception of our program, we've seen associates actively engaged in
managing their health and significant improvement in workplace productivity. Our
associates who participated in the first three years of the program are seeing
results including a 38 percent increase in physical activity and a 17 percent
reduction in tobacco use. Associates have also logged more than 6.5 billion
steps in the last two years in the company`s walking program," said Kathleen
Herath, associate vice president of Health and Productivity at Nationwide.

Another Ohio employer, Alvis House, is a non-profit organization with more than
225 employees and operates community corrections programs in Columbus,
Chillicothe, Dayton, Lima and Toledo. Last year, 100 percent of employees and
participating spouses took part in health risk assessments. Alvis House also
sponsored a number of wellness activities, including a weight reduction program.
As a result, insurance premiums increased only a remarkable one percent for this
year, compared to the double-digit increases the agency experienced in the years
before the wellness program began.

Recent research on the cost of treatment for chronic illnesses, many of which
are preventable or manageable, give insight into why wellness programs are part
of the culture in both large and small workplaces (from Fitness at Work web
site):

* U.S. healthcare costs doubled from 1990 to 2001 and are projected to double by
2012 Source: Partnerships for Prevention (an organization of CEO's dedicated to
health promotion advocacy, www.prevent.org)
* Four of the ten most costly health conditions affecting employers are related
to heart disease and stroke. Employees with heart disease and heart disease risk
factors cost employers thousands of dollars more than healthy employees each
year through higher insurance. Source: Goetzel, Journal of Occupational and
Environmental Medicine 1998
* Between 1990 and 2004, the number of obese adults in Massachusetts rose 80
percent. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts found that with every 1 percent
increase in body mass index, an individual's annual health care costs goes up
$120. Source: Boston Globe, March 22, 2006
* "Of the $5000 per employee the average employer spent on health care in 2001,
more than 95 percent was spent on diagnosis and treatment, with maybe 2-3
percent being invested in early detection (screenings) and no more than 1-2
percent in prevention. This reactive approach persists despite evidence that up
to 50 percent of health care expenditures are life-style related and therefore
potentially preventable." Source: David Anderson, PhD reporting in Wellness
Councils of America's Absolute Advantage 2003
* Each smoker costs an employer an additional $3,856 a year in health-care costs
and lost productivity. Source: Billings Gazette December 10, 2005

"Prevention and disease management are a critical part of the federal health
reform legislation," said Kenneth Thorpe, Ph.D., national executive director for
the PFCD and chair of the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.
"By better managing chronic diseases, we avoid the need for costly procedures,
such as amputations or surgeries that arise from untreated or mismanaged
conditions. By preventing diseases, our system can avoid some costs altogether.
This is what policymakers are hoping to do by investing in an infrastructure
that includes prevention and disease management-to eliminate costs, not just
shift them to another part of the system."

Editor`s Note: For more information on the programs mentioned, please contact:

Joe San Filippo, Chief Health Care Strategist, Nationwide Better Health,
614-249-2236

Kathleen Herath, Associate Vice President, Health and Productivity, Nationwide,
614-249-4058

Denise Robinson, CEO, Alvis House, 614-252-8402

For the Ohio chapter of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease
Jenny Camper, 614-224-0658 or 614-579-7948

Copyright Business Wire 2009