METLIFE ANALYSIS REVEALS FIVE MOST COSTLY MEDICAL CONDITIONS DRIVE 60 PERCENT OF LOST WORKDAYS DUE TO SHORT TERM DISABILITIES
Income Protection Benefits and Education Integral for Successful Transition to Consumer Driven Health Plans
NEW YORK, July 26, 2006 – Approximately half of all short term disability insurance claims MetLife receives each year is a result of the five most expensive diseases and illnesses in the United States in terms of medical expenditures.1 These five ailments – heart conditions, trauma, cancer, mental disorders and pulmonary conditions – account for an average of 60% of all lost workdays due to a short term disability (STD), according to a MetLife analysis of over 1.5 million STD income insurance claims.
Employers can successfully utilize the relationship between medical expenditures and disability absences to develop a workplace strategy for mitigating rising health care costs, managing absences, and easing employees’ concerns as they face increased responsibility for their health care decisions.
“Lost workdays for employers can cause decreased productivity with a negative impact to the bottom line. Lost workdays for employees can mean a negative impact to their personal finances – especially alarming at a time when they are also facing a spike in out-of-pocket medical expenditures due to an illness,” says Ronald Leopold, MD, MetLife vice president, Employer Sponsored Benefits.
By understanding the link between medical expenses and disability absences, employers can leverage the right resources at the right time to help keep employees healthy and at work. For example, employers can work to ensure that STD claimants have access to health and medical information resources to prevent more serious (and costly) conditions further down the road. Educated employees, on the other hand, are better able to make informed decisions regarding their workplace benefits options and personal risk exposures.
“The trend toward consumer driven health plans creates a critical risk management shift from employer to employee. As employees assume more financial responsibility for their health care decisions, other workplace benefits take on an even more critical role for closing financial protection gaps,” adds Dr. Leopold.
Transitioning to consumer driven health plans can be made easier for individuals – especially those who have a serious injury or illness – if employers provide needed assistance in the form of educational resources, disease management and wellness programs, and financial protection benefits.
Dr. Leopold suggests that employers consider:
- offering workplace programs that encourage a good diet, exercise and a generally healthy lifestyle;
- promoting educational resources for employees so that they better understand how their good health choices may help mitigate future out-of-pocket medical expenses;
- utilizing aggregate medical and disability income insurance claims experience to determine which health and wellness programs will be most beneficial – with the greatest return on investment – for their employee population;
- using life-stage benefits communications and offerings to maximize employees’ satisfaction with their workplace benefits offerings. For example, because employees experience trigger events at different stages of their life, they require the educational resources, tools and workplace benefits that can be customized to meet their needs.
The MetLife analysis of disability causes and lost workdays examined the number of group STD claims filed with the insurer from 2001 to 2005. The average number of lost workdays was then calculated for the five most expensive medical conditions.
MetLife has made available a new employer guide, “Closing the Gap in Consumer Driven Health Care: How Short Term Disability Income Protection Can Ease the Transition.” The guide illustrates how a STD program can provide insights into medical expenditures for employers as well as a critical financial safety net for employees – especially for those transitioning to health savings accounts and high deductible plans. The free guide is available at www.whymetlife.com/disabilitypr.
MetLife, a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) is a leading provider of insurance and other financial services to millions of individual and institutional customers throughout the United States. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife, Inc. offers life insurance, annuities, automobile and homeowner’s insurance and retail banking services to individuals, as well as group insurance, reinsurance and retirement and savings products and services to corporations and other institutions. Outside the U.S., the MetLife companies have direct insurance operations in Asia Pacific, Latin America and Europe. For more information, please visit www.metlife.com.
1 The Five Most Costly Medical Conditions, 1997 and 2002: Estimates for the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, Agency for Healthcare Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Research and Quality, May 2005.
Contact:
Karen Eldred
(212) 578-9561