Save
on Health Insurance Premiums with Smoke-Free Policies
Many health
insurers offer discounts for businesses that provide smoke-free
environments and smoking cessation programs. |
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Here’s
why. Smokers tend to require more medical costs, see physicians more
often and be admitted to hospitals for longer periods than nonsmokers.
According to the American Cancer Society, a study of health care utilization
in 20,000 employees showed smokers had more hospital admissions per
1,000 (124 vs. 76), had a longer average length of stay (6.5 vs. 5 days)
and made six more visits to health care facilities per year than nonsmoking
employees (7).
Research shows that,
while healthcare costs decline over time for former smokers, healthcare
costs for continuing smokers can dramatically increase over time. If
a health plan had no smokers, estimated savings would be approximately
$1.3 million per year per 10,000 smokers, according to a healthcare
actuarial study conducted on behalf of the Colorado Clinical Guidelines
Collaborative (8). That study
showed smokers add approximately seven percent to the total cost of
healthcare by using tobacco. Individual smokers average 30 percent higher
healthcare costs than nonsmokers. Contact Chris
Hollenback at UW-CTRI, (608) 262-3902, for a copy of a full actuarial
analysis.
By
the Numbers
30% = higher percentage
of healthcare expenses for a smoker vs. nonsmoker (8)
74% = percentage of Wisconsin
insurers covering some form of cessation medication (9)
$490 = average extra annual
medical expenses from regular exposure to secondhand smoke (10)
$1,623 = average additional
medical expenses per year for a smoker (4)
$2.9 billion = combined
healthcare expenses and lost productivity due to smoking in Wisconsin
(5)
Businesses pay an
average of $1238 more in workers' compensation costs per smoker per
year. (11)
To contact a UW-CTRI
professional for more information, click
here. |
