Monday, 20 November 2006
Preventive Care Fights Rising Health Costs
Faced with the rising cost of health insurance premiums, many business are starting to stress preventive care measures for their employees.
Preventive care focuses on early detection and prevention of health conditions that could become worse if left untreated — and could require expensive care.
Health insurance companies, particularly managed care organizations, have stressed preventive care for a long time. Increasingly, business owners are gaining an awareness of how getting care early and often can keep their workers healthier and improve the business’ bottom line.
In addition, many health insurance companies and hospitals offer an increasing number of programs to help people live healthier. These include programs for weight management, smoking cessation, and “lifestyle coaching” for people with chronic conditions like asthma or diabetes.
“It’s not just a matter of shopping for the cheapest health care coverage. It’s a matter of educating your work force and offering programs to help them improve their health so they don’t need to use their coverage as much, ” said James Early, who is the director of clinical preventive medicine at the University of Kansas School of Medicine.
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