Average Health Insurance Premiums
| How much are companies paying for health insurance for their employees? A survey of 1,927 employers gives these average costs for employees:
- Single: $4,704 (the worker contributes $721, the company $3,983)
- Family: $12,680 (the worker contributes $3,354, the company $9,325)
These are huge costs for both individuals and companies and points out that the healthcare system needs to put more emphasis on preventing disease and enhancing health rather than just paying medical bills for health problems that could have been prevented. The primary cost of healthcare is from chronic disease. Research shows that most of these diseases are preventable by living a healthy lifestyle.2 For example:
- The Nurses' Health Study showed that up to 90 percent of type 2 diabetes is caused from unhealthy lifestyles (obesity, inactivity, poor diet, and smoking).
- The Chicago Heart Study showed that up to 70-80 percent of heart disease is caused by poor health habits (obesity, inactivity, poor diet, and smoking).
- The American Cancer society estimates that the majority of cancers are caused from unhealthy lifestyle (smoking, obesity, inactivity, and poor diet).
- A study on high blood pressure, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, showed that over 70 percent of people taking blood pressure medication for high blood pressure were able to stop their medication and control their high blood pressure without medicine by making these same healthy lifestyle changes.
If companies would encourage all employees to simply start a walking program (30+ minutes of brisk walking daily), they could positively impact their employees' health. Research shows that compared to sedentary persons, people who exercise regularly would have a:
|
|
| |
