Post on 22-Mar-2016
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Health Issues Adversely Affecting Workers’
CompensationTim Michels, Esq.
IWIF
When employees smoke, they are not the only ones who suffer the consequences
Increased medical costs, higher insurance rates, added maintenance expenses, lower productivity and high rates of absenteeism from smoking costs American businesses between $97 and $125 billion every year
Smoking
Visit healthcare professionals up to 6 times more often than non-smokers
Are admitted to the hospital almost twice as often as non-smokers
Average 1.4 additional days in the hospital per admission over non-smokers
Had about two times more lost production time per week than workers who never smoked
Profile of smokers
Workers compensation costs for a smoker average $2,189 compared to only $176 for a non-smoker
Employees who take four 20 minute smoking breaks a day actually work one month less per year than workers who don’t take smoking breaks
200 min/week x52 weeks=10,400 minutes =173 hours
Added expenses
Bones are nourished by blood much like the other organs and tissues in the body
Nutrients, minerals and oxygen area all supplied to the bones via the blood stream.
Smoking elevates the levels of nicotine in your blood and this causes the blood vessels to constrict
Nicotine constricts blood vessels approximately 25% of their normal diameters
Effects on Healing
Constriction of Blood Vessels
Cigarette smoking, which causes over 8.6 million illnesses annually in the US has been shown to have harmful effects on a variety of orthopedic conditions
Studies have shown that the numerous toxins contained in cigarette smoke can undermine fracture and ligament repair following injury and slow wound healing
Effect on Workers Compensation Claims
In addition, smokers have higher rates of hip fractures, fracture healing problems and bone infections
Smoking lengthens the amount of time for healing and thus often times delays a return to work
Smoking often leads to lost production time and increased insurance premiums
Effects on W/C claims
Offering smoking cessation programs is the number one cost effective benefit employers can provide
If brief counseling and therapy, including over-the-counter cessation aids, were offered to all smokers, it could save $3 billion in medical costs annually in the United States
What to do?
Improvement in employee health Lower absenteeism and increased
productivity Quicker Return to Work Potential for lower insurance premiums Employee support for non-smoking policies
Benefits of smoke free workplace
The fact that there is an obesity epidemic is the United States is evident everywhere
Movie theatre seats have grown from an average of 19 inches to 23 inches wide
Revolving doors from 6 feet to 8 feet Supermarket aisles have expanded from 5
feet to 7 feet.
Obesity
Obesity related healthcare costs in the $8 billion range according to the American Journal of Health Promotion
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), obesity and associated health conditions, particularly diabetes are responsible for much of the increase in employee health costs
Obesity
Nationwide, the CDC estimates that as many as 24 million Americans are diabetic and 57 million more are pre-diabetic, meaning that without an alteration in lifestyle, sugar could elevate to diabetic levels
Obese workers with diabetes are less productive on the job and more susceptible to severe injury situations that result in higher insurance costs
Obesity has a significant impact on worker productivity because the more chronic medical conditions an employee has, the higher the probability of absenteeism
Obesity/Diabetes
Obesity has been found to contribute to approximately 55% of type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes risk can be reduced in many cases by making changes in diet and increasing physical activity
Obesity and Diabetes
Nearly 6 W/C claims were filed per 100 workers of normal body mass index (BMI) compared with more than 11 claims filed per 100 of the heaviest workers
Medical and indemnity severity increase steadily with the injured worker’s BMI with costs of obese workers being more than double the average costs of workers of normal or recommended weight
Increased costs of claims
Claims: Morbidly obese workers filed 45 % more claims than non-obese workers
Lost workdays: Morbidly obese workers had 8 times the number of lost workdays vs. BMI’s in the normal range
Medical costs: Morbidly obese workers had 5.4 times higher medical costs
Indemnity costs: Morbidly obese workers had nearly eight times more indemnity costs
Duke University Study on Obesity
Consider an employee who was bumped slightly by a laundry cart:
For a healthy worker, this simple act wouldn’t even raise a bruise
An obese, diabetic worker runs the risk with any injury he incurs, even the slightest abrasion potentially escalating into a serious injury which could even lead to amputation
Workers Comp Impact
Diabetes has implications for acute and chronic wound healing
Delayed healing leads to an increased risk of infection
Wound infection leads to increased length of disability, increased seriousness of injury and financial hardships
Workers Comp Impact
Institute a Wellness Program in the Workplace
Encourage use of the stairs Make programs like Weight Watchers
available at work Experts from the local YMCA are available
on-site to discuss a healthier lifestyle Health screenings Encourage employees to determine their
BMI (Body mass index)
What to do
An employer can reduce obesity in the workplace and reduce the risk of diabetes
Along with the obvious monetary benefit, companies with a wellness program will also see increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, better morale, less employee turnover and the overall feeling by employees that management cares about their well being
Results
Body Mass Index Chart