Get attention on costs of emotional disorders
September 1, 2009 2 minutes read
Get attention on costs of emotional disorders
Coronary artery disease, diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and congestive heart failure. Would it surprise you to learn that emotional disorders cost companies more than any of these conditions? That is what researchers found when they merged health care claims with data on disability and productivity for 4,000 employees of a large U.S. insurance company.1
The researchers merged health care claims with data on disability and productivity for the employees, 11.5% of which had depression, anxiety, or another emotional disorder.
In addition to the $774 of average annual direct medical costs for each worker with these conditions, the indirect costs were even higher: $872 per affected employee. For each employee with emotional disorders, overall loss of productive time averaged 3.3 days per year.
Kenton Johnston, MPH, MS, MA, the study's lead author and a bio-statistical research analyst at Blue Cross BlueShield of Tennessee in Chattanooga, says he wasn't surprised by this data. "The findings are in line with a large body of prior literature regarding the cost of depression, anxiety, and emotional disorders to employers," says Johnston. However, he says that companies often overlook the indirect costs of emotional disorders.
"The old adage is that what gets measured gets managed," says Johnston. "Most companies simply do not measure these costs because they are not as salient as their annual health care premiums and related health care claims costs. However, these costs are substantial, as is the missed opportunity to manage the underlying costs."
As an occupational health professional, Johnston says you can "put these indirect costs on the radar" for your employer. Johnston recommends telling senior leaders that for every 40 cents spent on medical and pharmacy claims to treat these disorders, another 60 cents is being lost in indirect labor costs. "This has a real impact on their bottom line," he says. "Such data may be used to justify screening and treatment programs targeted to employees at risk for depression, anxiety, and emotional disorders."
Reference
1. Johnston K, Westerfield W, Momin S, et al. The direct and indirect costs of employee depression, anxiety, and emotional disorders: an employer case study. J Occup Environ Med 2009; 51:564-577.
Coronary artery disease, diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and congestive heart failure. Would it surprise you to learn that emotional disorders cost companies more than any of these conditions?You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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