Talking Points - Wellness@Work Template



Wellness@Work

Talking Points

Key messages are numbered, with supporting points for you to use as relevant.

|Health care costs continue to soar in Oregon, driven largely by ongoing, preventable health conditions, like heart disease, |

|diabetes, arthritis and cancer. In addition to financial costs, this takes a tremendous toll on Oregonians’ quality of life. |

| |Supporting Evidence/Additional Detail: |

| |Every year, the toll of chronic disease in Oregon is about 19,000 lives,[i] $16 billion[ii] [iii] in health care |

| |costs, and countless hours of missed work. |

| |Tobacco use and obesity are the leading preventable causes of illness and early death in Oregon—and the leading |

| |drivers of health care costs.[iv] |

| |Every year, about 7,000 Oregonians die from smoking, costing an estimated $2.4 billion in health care costs and lost |

| |productivity.[v] |

| |One-third of the increase in Oregon’s health care spending between 1998 and 2005 was due to the obesity epidemic, |

| |according to a recent study for the Northwest Health Foundation by Emory University.[vi] |

| |Obesity costs Oregon more than $781 million in direct medical costs and more than $1 billion altogether, when |

| |including lost productivity and other health conditions that result from or exacerbate the disease.[vii] [viii] |

| |Diabetes treatment in Oregon costs $1.4 billion per year—and that number is rising, according to state data.[ix] |

| |Oregon, which continues to face high unemployment and a state budget shortfall, spends 16 percent of its general fund|

| |budget on health care.[x] |

| The most powerful step an employer can take to reverse this trend is to create a culture of wellness at work. By making it easier |

|for employees to quit smoking, eat healthy foods, and move more, we can prevent or alleviate most chronic diseases. Since most |

|Oregonians want to be healthy—and spend nearly half their waking hours at work—workplace strategies that prevent or manage costly |

|chronic conditions also can help the bottom line and make employees happier. |

| |Supporting Evidence/Additional Detail: |

| |Eighty percent of Oregon smokers want to quit.[xi] |

| |Nearly two-thirds of Oregon adults are overweight or obese.[xii] |

| |Fifty-six percent of overweight adults and 78 percent of obese adults reported trying to lose weight.[xiii] |

| |Only 57 percent of Oregonians meet the CDC’s physical activity recommendations.[xiv] Employees who walk for 30 |

| |minutes a day during the work week will meet the CDC’s physical activity recommendations. |

| |Fifty-nine percent of Oregon worksites now provide easy access to healthy food choices for employees.[xv] |

| |More than two-thirds of state workers are overweight or obese, and 90 percent of both groups say they want to lose or|

| |maintain weight.[xvi] Over the past two years, roughly 4,000 state workers enrolled in the WeightWatchers-at-Work |

| |program have tallied a total weight loss of more than 100,000 pounds.[xvii] |

| |Since 2006, more than a third of the 3,000 state employees who used the Oregon Tobacco Quit Line have quit tobacco |

| |with help from the Oregon Tobacco Quit Line. This represents an estimated return on investment of $756,000.[xviii] |

|Worksite wellness programs and policies contain health care costs, decrease absenteeism, improve employee morale, cut the number |

|and cost of workers’ compensation claims, and help attract and retain healthy employees, according to dozens of studies. |

| |Supporting Evidence/Additional Detail: |

| |Obesity drives up workers’ compensation costs: Obese workers, compared with average workers, file twice as many |

| |workers’ compensation claims; the cost of the average claim is five times greater; and lost workdays are 13 times |

| |higher, according to a recent study by Duke University Medical Center.[xix] |

| |Firms that adopt at least three wellness strategies for a year, on average, reduce medical costs by 26 percent, sick |

| |leave by 27 percent, and workers’ compensation costs by 32 percent.[xx] |

| |Employees who believe their workplace culture is focused on health have a high desire to stay with their employer |

| |until they retire, according to a recent study by Towers Watson.[xxi] |

| |One of the best practices endorsed by Wellness@Work is providing coverage to help employees quit smoking. The new |

| |“Helping Benefit Oregon Smokers” recommendations, developed by a coalition of health care and insurance advocates, |

| |specifies the best level of coverage. Many Oregon insurers have endorsed the recommendation. By working with their |

| |insurance providers to include this benefit, employers can help employees quit smoking, which increases productivity |

| |and employee health and reduces health cares costs and illness. The recommendations are available on the |

| |Wellness@Work website. |

| |According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, employees in healthy worksites are more physically |

| |active, more aware of how to manage chronic diseases like diabetes and asthma, have better eating habits and use less|

| |tobacco. |

|Healthy habits at work carry over into home life, benefiting children and families, and create healthier community members who make|

|Oregon a better place to live, work, and raise a family. |

|Employers of all sizes and types are taking steps to support employee health—and improve the bottom line. |

| |Supporting Evidence/Additional Detail: |

| |The goal of the initiative is to reach more than 1 million Oregonians with workplace policies and programs that: |

| |Reduce tobacco use. |

| |Provide access to physical activity opportunities and healthy food choices. |

| |Encourage employees with chronic conditions to take charge of their health. |

|Joining the worksite wellness movement is easy, affordable and fun. Visit wellnessatwork to get started. |

| |Supporting Evidence/Additional Detail: |

| |Use a Web-based tool to assess your company’s wellness practices, create a tailored plan to address your company’s |

| |needs, and shape a culture of wellness. |

| |A series of community forums across the state brings together employers of all sorts to build regional worksite |

| |wellness strategies. |

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[i] Oregon Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention. Keeping Oregonians Healthy, 2007. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Department of Human Services, Oregon Public Health Division, 2008.

[ii] Total health care spending in the state for all payers—public, private and individuals—projected to be $19.3 billion in 2008. Office of Health Policy & Research, Trends in Oregon’s Health Care Market and the Oregon Health Plan, February 2009. Accessed April 7, 2011:

[iii] Anderson G. Chronic conditions: making the case for ongoing care. Princeton, NJ: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 2010; 16. At pr/product.jsp?id=50968. Accessed on Jan. 24, 2011. (Health care spending for people with chronic conditions amounts to 84 percent of total health care spending.)

[iv] Oregon Department of Human Services analysis of 2003 Death Certificate data.

[v] Tobacco Prevention and Education Program. Oregon Tobacco Facts & Laws. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Department of Human Services, Oregon Public Health Division, 2010.

[vi] Northwest Health Foundation Press Release:

[vii] Finkelstein E, Fiebelkorn I, Wang G. “State-level estimates of annual medical expenditures attributable to obesity.” Obesity Research, 2004;12:18-24.

[viii]

[ix] Oregon Health Policy Board or the Oregon Health Authority. Oregon Health Improvement Plan. December 2010.

[x] Oregon Health Authority: Legislative Fiscal Office, Highlights of the 2009-2011 Legislatively Adopted Budget, August 2009, and Analysis of the 2009-2011 Legislatively Adopted Budget.

[xi] Tobacco Prevention and Education Program. Oregon Tobacco Facts & Laws. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Department of Human Services, Oregon Public Health Division, 2009.

[xii] Oregon Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2009. (Actual number 60.2 percent.)

[xiii] Physical Activity and Nutrition Program. Oregon Overweight, Obesity, Physical Activity, and Nutrition Facts. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Department of Human Services, Oregon Public Health Division, 2006.

[xiv] Oregon Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2009.

[xv] Oregon Healthy Worksite Initiative. Healthy Worksite Initiative Fact Sheet: 2008 Oregon Employer Survey. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Department of Human Services, Oregon Public Health Division, 2009.

[xvi] Oregon Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention. BRFSS 2009-2010 Survey of State and School Employees Report. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Department of Human Services, Oregon Public Health Division, 2011.

[xvii] PEBB data from WeightWatchers, March 2011.

[xviii] Data from Free & Clear Quit For Life Program, combined with return on investment estimates from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 2010.

[xix] Ostbye T, Dement JM, Krause KM. “Obesity and workers’ compensation: results from the Duke Health and Safety Surveillance System.” Arch Intern Med. 2007 Apr 23;167(8):766-73.

[xx] Chapman LS. “Meta-evaluation of worksite health promotion economic return studies: 2005 update.” Am J Health Promot. 2005 Jul-Aug; 19(6): 1-11.

[xxi] “Employee Perspectives on Health Care.” Part II: Employee Engagement. Towers Watson. February 2011. Retrieved from:

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