One quarter (25%) of U.S. employees surveyed have worked with an executive who became severely ill and whose illness affected the company. This finding of the HealthMine 2018 Rising Risk Survey highlights the need for companies to do a better job of identifying key employees who are at-risk for a chronic illness. Once risks are identified, plan members can engage in personalized health actions to help ward off disease. In addition, companies can implement contingency and succession plans should these employees suddenly become sick.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), chronic diseases are responsible for seven of 10 deaths each year, and treating people with chronic diseases accounts for 86% of U.S. healthcare costs. However, it has been reported that the rising-risk chronic disease population group typically represents 20-30% of a defined population, and due to their numbers, can actually account for a higher total healthcare spend than the high-risk population.
The HealthMine 2018 Rising Risk Survey queried 500 full-time U.S. employees age 26-64 who are enrolled in a healthcare plan sponsored by their employers. The survey was fielded by Research Now SSI (formerly Survey Sampling International) in December 2017 and January 2018. Data were collected via an opt-in panel. The margin of error was 4%. Research Now SSI has been the worldwide leader in survey sampling and data collection solutions across every mode for 40 years.
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