Lower
Your Claim Volumes and Severity:
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Dollars
Research shows:
- Smoking
is the nation’s leading cause of preventable death and
disease (16).
- According
to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),
smoking costs the nation $167 billion a year in healthcare costs
and lost worker productivity. For more on this study, click
here.
- Insurance
coverage of tobacco cessation treatment increases the use of
these treatments and the chances smokers will quit (15).
- Any additional
expenses to cover such treatments are quickly recovered and
insurers can experience a substantial savings in health care
costs over time (15).
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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 (8).
How
to Calculate the Annual Savings from Tobacco Cessation Coverage
$1.3 million x each unit of 10,000 insureds who smoke = savings
Source: Leif Associates, Inc. (8)
Greater cost savings
will likely occur within special populations such as pregnant women
and persons with cardiac conditions. Smokers add approximately seven
percent to the total cost of healthcare. Individual smokers average
31 percent higher healthcare costs than nonsmokers. For a full actuarial
analysis, click here.
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 in your area to get started, click
here. |
