The obesity problem isn’t going away in this country, and new research proves it is to blame for even more health problems than we once thought.
Last week the Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH) met to discuss this and other important topics at Google’s community space in San Francisco. My portion focused on the economics behind obesity risk management for employer-sponsored health plans – and the need to include all the costs in the numerator of your equation in order to truly understand the economic impact. Hint: it’s not just your health benefit costs! Obesity extends into workers compensation and OSHA recordables too. Obesity literally affects every aspect of your risk. There was a general consensus in the room that wellness programs are inadequate in addressing this issue for employers – especially because of the data firewall that exists between wellness companies and the physician/supply side. This firewall further exacerbates the gap between the obesity “problem” and the “treatment.”