Arizona’s “Health Pulse” – Unanswered Questions, Part 1

Welcome to my very first blog entry! I'd like to thank my good friend Kevin Hillstrom, President of MineThatData and author of the world's top ranked blog on Multichannel Forensics, for getting me started on this endeavor.

On Tuesday, I attended the "Arizona HealthPulse Breakfast" sponsored by the Phoenix Business Journal and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. As a former member of the wellness team at BCBSAZ, I was excited to see the latest data and hear keynote speaker Richard H. Carmona, M.D, M.P.H, FACS, 17th Surgeon General of the United States.

Dr. Carmona’s address was inspiring and depressing all at the same time. Dr. Carmona is an outstanding speaker who’s passion for public health comes across loud and clear. It was inspiring to hear his dedication to serving people and his message about both the need for and the power of prevention. The depressing part, although not a surprise, is how difficult it is to do something good in Washington because of partisan politics. For the record, I have no desire to debate politics nor the pro’s and con’s of Democracy. I just wish we could all get along and unite against the common enemy of chronic disease.

Anyone who is interested can get a free copy of the report, so I won’t take the time to re-hash the findings. One comment I will add is that I hope to see the sample size grow from year to year to increase the validity of this data.

I would like to address two audience questions that were (in my mind) left unanswered:

Question 1: How much of the health care budget should be allocated to wellness and prevention programs? Excellent question! The answer given was about incentives and participation- although interesting, did not answer the question. And, with all due respect the EVP of External Operations is not a health promotion professional and shouldn’t be expected to know what I know on the subject.

The answer is complex and depends on your organization. There are some important questions you need to ask your company leadership that have to do with your business goals, health care spending trend, age of your workforce, turnover, injury rates, absenteeism rates, productivity, etc. There is not one simple answer that will work for every business. In general, if you want your program to have an impact you need to budget about $100-150 per employee per year. A small price tag considering that in 2005 total U.S. health care spending was $2 TRILLION (about $6,700 per person). In 2006, the annual premium for an employer health plan was $4,200 for a single employee. This number seems low to me, as I have one client who’s medical cost PEPY were over $6,000 and when you factor in prescription drug costs, workman’s compensation and disability it brings the number to over $10,000. So, if you were this client, I would recommend spending at least 1-1.5% of the total per employee cost. What a bargain, especially when you consider the documented $3 to $1 ROI of a comprehensive HPM program!

I’ll address the second question, which had to do with insurance coverage for prevention in my next article. For more information on Health and Productivity Management, please visit my website: www.awbrooks.com.