Preventive Services are Beneficial for Employers and Employees
Research shows that employees who take advantage of medical preventive services are better workers. They have fewer absences, are more productive, and are more committed to their employers.
Preventive services are medical office visits to monitor the health of patients before they become sick. Employers who offer and promote preventive care may see benefits in healthier and happier employees, and less time off for illness.
Medical preventive services, like tobacco use treatment, can help employees avoid disease altogether. They can also catch disease in its earliest stages, when treatment is most effective and least expensive.
Early detection and treatment can also help stop the spread of infectious diseases like the flu. And as a bonus to employers, preventive services can help lower overall medical costs. They can help reduce sick days, turnover, disability, and increase productivity.
Preventive services are a good investment
There is much evidence that preventive services have a positive effect on both employers and employees. However, a study performed in 2002 by The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System revealed some surprising information.
Only half of insured adults took advantage of the services recommended for their age and sex. This can have a bad impact on beneficiaries' health status and overall healthcare costs to employers.
For example, in 2004 the National Committee for Quality Assurance reported 7,600 cases of late-stage breast cancer. They also reported 20,000 cases of late-stage colorectal cancer. Further, they reported 21,000 cases of bone disease fractures.
All of these diseases could have been treated or prevented with early detection. This could result in an overall savings of $485.2 million in excess medical treatment.
Humana makes it easy to promote good health
Depending on your Humana health plan, many preventive services are 100 percent covered at no cost to you. That means no co-payments, co-insurance or deductibles on eligible preventive services performed by providers in the Humana network. There are no out-of-pocket expenses for these services.
Click here to get the Humana preventive services guide for a list of covered services.
Spread the word
Employers can take action now to reduce their healthcare costs and improve the health of their employees. They can spread the word about clinical preventive services by:
- Offering a structured set of clinical preventive service benefits through their health plan
- Informing employees, dependents, and retirees about the availability of clinical preventive service benefits
- Promoting the use of recommended clinical preventive services
- Educating employees, dependents, and retirees about the importance of preventive services and healthy lifestyles
- Implementing programs that promote healthy lifestyles
- Providing opportunities for employees to participate in disease prevention outside of the clinical setting. This includes health promotions, wellness and disease prevention programs, and employee assistance programs
- Supporting community-based and worksite-based preventive service interventions
- Share the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations, which are updated often, with employees so they can better understand what is recommended and why.
Employees can also download an application to their mobile device, so they can find out what preventive services are recommended for them.
Remember, preventive care keeps your employees healthy. It can also help prevent illness and detect diseases in their earliest stages. To get complete details or for more information, contact your Humana representative.
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