Health

Health care costs and insurance costs are on the rise. The Kaiser Family Foundation says the average cost per employee in 2011 was $5,429, up 8% over 2010. A large corporation with 28,000 employees (for which I consult) averaged $7,308 per employee in 2011, up 9.5% from 2010.

What’s Going On With Our Health?

In the last 20 years:

• Asthma has doubled,
• Learning disabilities have doubled,
• Diabetes has tripled, and
• Autism has increased by 2 times to 70 times in every state.
• Health care costs as a percentage of the GNP (Gross National Product) continue to rise. In 1940 costs were 4%; in 1970 they were 8%; in 2000 they were 16%, and in 2030 they are estimated to be 30%.

Unintended Consequences

As the use of medications has increased, so have the unintentional drug overdose deaths.

• In 1970, there were 1.2 unintentional drug overdose deaths per 100,000 population,
• In 1990 there were 1.8 per 100,000 population, and
• In 2007 there were 9.2 unintentional drug overdose deaths per 100,000 populations.
• 8.9 million people per year in the United States are hospitalized unnecessarily.
• There are 7.5 million unnecessary surgical procedures per year resulting in 37,136 deaths at a cost of $122 billion. (Death by Medicine, Gary Null, PhD, et. al.)

What Are Our Options, With Rising Health Care Costs?

Many medical doctors feel strongly that Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) [Complementary and Integrative Medicine (CIM)] would reduce the cost of health care while helping people to be healthier. Previously, few studies have been accomplished to show what a difference CAM or CMI can make. However, a recent review study published in the British Medical Journal in September of 2012 helped elucidate this point. (Herman P, Poindexter B, Witt C, Eisenberg D. Are complementary therapies and integrative care cost-effective? A systematic review of economic evaluations.)

Dr. Herman, the author of the study, looked at 13,000 abstracts to find 338 with economic evaluations between the years of 2000 to 2010. Fifty-six of those studies were of high enough quality that their data could be generalized. Sixteen of those studies showed health improvement with cost savings. The difference between the cost-saving studies was slightly, but not significantly, lower than those showing cost increases (85% vs 88%, p=0.460).

I consult for a large company with 28,000 employees, and we just completed a beta study. The beta site has 470 employees. The study was administered from December of 2011 to December of 2012.

I began the beta testing on-site to explain the program and its benefits to the employees. The program consists of a Health Assessment (oriented around the CAM principles the company wanted to support) which gave immediate results and an explanation of risks. These risks were linked to Internet self-directed learning modules that explained the risk and how to correct it. Employees were also given the option to sign up for a health coach, which was fully paid for by the corporate office. Incentives were given to employees for showing up at the orientation meeting, for taking the health assessment, for getting involved with the health coaches, and for completing goals set by the employee and the health coach. The savings and costs for the program are as follows:

            Savings (compared years 2010 and 2011 to 2012 at the beta site compared to the rest of the company over those same years)– $30,000 per month

            Costs (IT support, administration, health coaches, incentives, excluding expenses for myself to visit site to introduce program)– $5721 per month

Mike Leavitt, former governor of Utah and HHS (Health and Human Services) Director said in 2006, “Until we begin to pursue prevention and staying healthy with the same rigor that we give treatment, our [healthcare] cost problems will persist.” He added, “American medicine is on a collision course with the future as a result of steadily rising costs.”

What Can I Do?

Some of the CAM principles which will get and keep us healthy, with a reduction in overall health care costs include:

1.Take control of your own health-read, study, do your own research, be proactive

2.Eat right, sleep tight, exercise, avoid toxins, take supplements, think right, de-stress your life

3.Consider a CAM practitioner for part or all of your health care

4.See if your company will set up a health savings plan that can be used for things outside traditional insurance plans; for example:

• supplements prescribed by practitioner,
• massage therapy,
• acupuncture,
• dental amalgam removal

Remember, you only get one body. Our Word of Wisdom helps us to know core principles that can help us to be healthy. Pay careful attention to the things you can do to prevent illness, and you will go a long way in staying healthy throughout your life.

To your dynamic health and energy!

Dr. Stan

Stan Gardner, M.D., CNS, is the medical director of the Keys to Healing Medical Center, in Riverton, UT. Dr. Gardner consults for corporations that self-insure. He can be contacted at 801-302-5397.