• Aug31

    There is a great business case for prevention.  And the government is making the argument, and putting our money, towards it.

    Starting 2011, small companies—those with 100 employees or fewer, and no existing wellness program in place–will be able to get grants for up to five years to establish employee wellness programs. With a 30% credit.

    Companies also can establish employee rewards programs, with an up to 50% credit by the government.

    But what are the criteria? How to apply? Where is the grant application? Not posted, yet.

    Many studies say corporate wellness programs show a positive return on investment (ROI). A study of 56 worksite health promotion programs showed, on average, 32 percent less workers’ comp/disability claims costs.

    A 2010 Harvard Study of wellness programs found
    *$2.73:1 savings-to-cost ratio for absenteeism
    *$3.27:1 savings-to-cost ratio for health costs

    All from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Here is a timeline summary through 2015, courtesy of the Kaiser Foundation, about what to expect. Fasten your seat belt!

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  • Aug27

    Get ready for a boom in prevention. Many benefits will be covered. But which?

    Health plans established on or after Sept. 23, 2010 will need to cover preventive services rated “A” or “B” by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Ditto Medicare/Medicaid by January 1, 2011.

    Which services are those for You? Fill in the quick blanks below: it shows “A” and “B”.

    No copays, deductibles and coinsurance amounts will be due. That’s for

    • Mammograms, colonoscopies and other cancer screenings.
    • Blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol screening.
    • Lifestyle counseling (quitting smoking, losing weight, eating better, treating depression and reducing alcohol use).
    • Counseling and screening for healthy pregnancies.
    • Flu and pneumonia vaccines
    • Regular well baby and well child visits

    Older private employer plans are exempt or grandfathered, if they don’t change their plans. But most will. 70 percent will probably lose their exemption or grandfather status by 2013.

    Next: grants for employee wellness.

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  • Aug4


    Adult obesity has nearly doubled in the U.S. in 16 years. Obesity-related quality of life has been nearly cut in half (using QALYs, which Eddie Lawlor and I showed had ethical challenges but predicted the health care financing problems we’re having now).

    And following the money gives a direct answer to this obesity problem. (see right, courtesy of wisegeek.com). Candy, pasta and bread are dirt cheap; fruits, veggies and nuts are not.

    Over the past  four years, the supermarket price of the most nutrient-dense (read: most nutritious, in a good way) foods increased 29.2 percent.  Those least nutrient-dense rose by 16.1 percent. Dr Dresnowski has been on this from early on.

    In other words, healthy food– fewer calories, more nutrition– is more expensive than junk food– more calories, less nutrition. Could the right financial incentives to producers and shoppers help?

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  • Aug1

    We rated 10 of the top online diet programs.

    We used the National Weight Control Registry’s core finding that people who keep weight off use personalized programs that teach and achieve four principles: accountability, self-monitoring, individualization of diet and adequate exercise.

    We assigned each program a total possible of 100 points, with each of the four areas representing 25 points.

    We included only paid programs, because other research has shown that people are more likely to adhere to a program they paid for, even if a free program is of higher quality.

    Here are the rankings, and links to the top six.

    Jillian Michaels (94 points)

    Joy Bauer (94 points)

    Denise Austin (91 points)

    Sonoma Diet (90 points)

    South Beach Diet (88 points)

    The Duke Diet (87 points)

    Weight Watchers (82 points)

    e-diets (76 points)

    Diet.com (66 points)

    Nutrisystem (56 points)

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  • Jun30

    Fat and broke, and getting fatter: the Healthy Americans new study showing that no state dropped in obesity rate last year and 38 states are over 25% obese.

    But undiscussed is income: it’s a major driver of the obesity epidemic, because calorie-rich food is cheap and getting cheaper. Over 35 percent of adults who earn under $15,000 a year are obese, but only 24.5 percent in the over-$50,000 per year.

    Yes, this is also education, and ethnicity: poor urban neighborhoods too often are unsafe places to play, and have too few fruits and vegetables for sale.

    Cost of veggies vs fast food

    Fast food calories per dollar

    Several people have made this connection already: Suze Orman has dedicated this CNBC season to “health and wealth”, and has linked out-of-control finances and out-of-control weight, and though I’m not a FICO score expert, I do know that people who have less money to spend (i.e., nearly everyone) are more mindful about what their dollars can buy.

    And it’s no secret that calories are cheap: when you can buy 800 calories for $1 (2 liter soda) and the graph below shows cheap fast food, it’s no wonder. As fast food has gotten cheaper, healthier foods have gotten more expensive.

    But there is a cure: it’s learning to cook (even wealthy and famous people are doing it: Kristen Stewart makes her own 6 hour marinara); and it’s eating SOUL (sustainable, organic, unprocessed, local…grown yourself) food.

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