In 2000, California's Worker's Comp system had the highest comp losses in the state's history. In fact, eight out of twelve California comp carriers were in liquidation or under state supervision as they fought to survive loss ratios of more than 144%. That means the system paid out 44% more than it collected. As the second largest Comp state in the nation, what happens there often translates across the country.
In the same year, America's health care costs totaled 14% of the Gross National Product! That's more than two times the total spent on schools and the military combined! It dwarfed the profits of the nations top ten most profitable companies. Heart disease, diabetes, and stroke, the nations top killers1 - are largely caused by lifestyle and considered preventable, yet ninety-five percent of health care dollars are spent on treatment and only five percent on prevention.
Since 1970 when President Nixon enacted the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), injury rates have decreased by more than half2. Numerous organizations have achieved success with innovative programs using behavior-based systems to identify unsafe acts in many different environments.
So why are comp claims still going through the roof? Two factors are major contributors:
Half of all workers comp claims are the most costly of all workplace injuries - cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs). These include back injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other soft tissue injuries.
"Baby boomers," now heading into their forties and fifties, comprise the majority of our current work force and are at greatest risk for CTDs.
Last year, medical costs directly attributable to the American lifestyle were half a TRILLION dollars - six times the profits of America's ten largest corporations3. As employers, we see the problem and, so far, nothing we have done has slowed the overwhelming tide of lifestyle-related injury and illness. Today, sixty percent of the population is overweight; one third are obese. Combined with lack of exercise and poor nutrition, this situation is bankrupting our Worker's Comp and Health Care system, and it can bankrupt your organization.
In 2001, the Surgeon General reported that 60% of adults are overweight, out of shape, and don't get enough exercise to maintain basic health; one in four adults are totally sedentary4. It's a fact: Heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and stoke are all highly preventable by proper diet and exercise. We see it as individuals on TV, in magazines, in the newspaper, on the Internet. Our Human Resource departments distribute information about it from our organization's health insurance carriers. By the time our doctors tell us to change our habits, we're already in trouble.
The impact of the general lack of personal fitness is felt not only on our personal health, but in the workplace as many worker's comp claims, healthcare costs, lost productivity, high absenteeism, disability; and eventually in overcrowded nursing homes.
