The U.S. loses more GDP to poor health than Sweden's total GDP
Today's post comes from guest author Nathan Reckman from Paul McAndrew Law Firm.
The Integrated Benefits Institute (IBI), a nonprofit health and productivity research organization for businesses, recently reported that poor health costs the U.S. economy $576 billion per year. Of this amount:- $227 billion is lost due to sick days or reduced productivity due to illness,
- $232 billion is spent by employers on medical and pharmacy treatments, and
- $117 billion is spent on workers’ compensation and short- or long-term disability wage replacement.
...for every $1 employers invest in improving their employees’ health and wellness they save $3...Sean Nicholson, Ph.D., quoted in the IBI report, has stated that for every $1 employers invest in improving their employees’ health and wellness they save $3 (quite a good return on their investment!). As wisely pointed out by IBI's President, Thomas Parry, Ph.D., this report puts employers on notice that their investment in workers’ health and wellness will benefit both the workers and their employers.
This report, in addition to pointing out the dual benefits posed by increased employer investment in their employees' health and wellnes, points out one of the important choices facing our country’s healthcare system.
Source for 2011 GDP information: CIA World Factbook
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