With obesity numbers continually rising, employers need to be aware of the cost implications associated with metabolic syndrome.
With this in mind, we asked Captive Resources’ Brian Gagne and Maddison Bezdicek to discuss metabolic syndrome and share strategies employers can implement to control their healthcare costs while improving employees’ lives in our recent Health Risk Management webinar.
Continue reading for a recap of their presentation.
Central obesity is the primary contributor to metabolic syndrome, with the most common prognoses being heart disease, liver and kidney disease, sleep apnea, and cancer.
To be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, three of the following conditions must be present:
Historically, individuals with metabolic syndrome have higher healthcare utilization and costs compared to those without metabolic syndrome. Consider the following statistics presented by Gagne:
While these numbers may seem daunting, employers can use many tactics to reduce the costs associated with metabolic syndrome. We’ll dive into these tactics below.
According to Bezdicek, there are many strategies employers can implement to better control costs associated with metabolic syndrome.
Employers can utilize their claims data or data analytics platforms to assess their needs and begin identifying the appropriate solution.
We want to note that fully-funded employers often have limited access to their plan data compared to employers that self-fund.
Data review can involve:
Employers can get creative with educating employees and fostering health-mindedness. Here are a few ideas for companies to consider:
Employers can host screenings or offer services onsite for easy access. Consider the following ideas:
Employers can design their plans to create better access to care for their employees. Consider the following options:
Employers can reduce barriers to well-being and healthy choices. Consider the following ideas:
Employers can reduce barriers to well-being within job design and work structure. Consider the following tactics:
Employers can support medication access and adherence. Consider the following solutions:
Employers can identify solutions to both prevent and manage metabolic syndrome factors.
This presentation was part of Captive Resources’ Medical Stop Loss Webinar Series — regular installments of webinars to educate medical stop loss group captive members. The thoughts and opinions expressed in these webinars are those of the presenters and do not necessarily reflect Captive Resources’ positions on any of the above topics.