The cost of high blood pressure in your workplace
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately half of the adult population — nearly 120 million Americans — are living with hypertension, or high blood pressure. With a statistic like that, it's likely you have a significant number or employees who are knowingly, or even unknowingly, living with hypertension.
Unlike many illnesses and diseases, high blood pressure garners the reputation as the "silent killer," since there may not be any noticeable symptoms.
Hypertension can be an extremely dangerous and costly disease if employees aren't aware of the condition, or do not manage it properly. The complications of untreated high blood pressure can notably impact your employees' time and productivity in the workplace.
Hypertension impacts to your business
It's no secret that your healthy employees are less likely to call in sick or spend more in health care dollars. On the contrary, employees with hypertension may require more medical care and have higher rates of absenteeism and lost productivity.
Get a glimpse at the negative impacts of hypertension on your employees and business:
- High blood pressure is a major risk factor for developing heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of death in the U.S.
- Hypertension costs U.S. employers up to $2,362 per year, per employee.
- Absenteeism due to hypertension costs employers an extra $11 billion annually.
Share this educational resource with your employees
Help your employees tackle hypertension with this article from BlueSM. They can learn about risk factors, prevention and managing their high blood pressure.
5 solutions for high blood pressure in your workforce
As Wellmark members, your employees have resources and experts in their corner to help navigate, prevent or control their high blood pressure. Not to mention, there are a few healthy options your business can incorporate, too.
1.
Encourage the importance of designating a primary care provider (PCP)
Did you know that employees who receive primary care regularly have 19 percent lower odds of premature death and 33 percent lower health care costs? Encourage your employees to develop and maintain a relationship with a PCP.
2.
Encourage more movement to manage or prevent hypertension
While some risks for high blood pressure are out of our hands, such as family history, age, sex or race, there are risk factors employees have control over — notably, their amount of physical activity. According to the CDC, less than half of adults get the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity a week. It’s not hard to believe when an estimated 38 percent of adults report sitting for more than eight hours a day.
Consider including these additional educational resources within your workplace:
3.
Consider healthy cafeteria vending options
Another high blood pressure risk factor that can be controlled is an unhealthy diet — especially one high in sodium. Because most of your employees are spending a majority of their time at work, it’s important to have healthy options in your cafeteria or vending machines. According to the National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, improving the type of foods and beverages served and sold in the workplace positively affected employees’ eating behaviors and resulted in weight loss and reduced cardiovascular risk.
Need some inspiration? Start with this round-up of articles:
4.
The impact of case management
When employees don't receive adequate support for their unmanaged chronic conditions, they tend to have more health care-related costs and frequent trips to the doctor, which can impact your company's bottom line. Wellmark's Case Management Program uses a team of clinically trained health care professionals to assist with your employees' unique health needs. The program focuses on providing employees with holistic, robust education and support that empowers them to take charge of their condition.
5.
Invest in a well-being program
Keeping your bottom line in check is important, but keeping your employees happy, healthy and engaged in the work they do is priceless. Making the investment in a workplace well-being program keeps your employees engaged in their health.
Make it easier for employees to manage their health plan
As your company’s HR or benefits administrator, you have a natural knack for wanting to educate employees on how they can become savvy health care consumers. And, companies that offer Wellmark coverage also offer their employees the tools to manage their health care confidently.
With myWellmark®, your employees are empowered to track claims, estimate health care spending, find providers and more on their own, meaning fewer questions, calls and emails to you.
If they haven’t done so already, encourage your employees to register for myWellmark. Contact your authorized Wellmark account representative or email us at blueatwork@wellmark.com to learn more.
Article resources
Engaging Employees through Health and Wellbeing Report, SimplyHealth, 2011
State of the American Workplace Report, Gallup, 2013
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Workplace Health Promotion
Heart.org: Changes you can make to manage high blood pressure
Heart.org: More than 100 million Americans have high blood pressure, AHA says