worksite wellness programs – AZ Dept. of Health Services Director's Blog

Smokers Cost Employers $6K More

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:50:22-07:00June 10th, 2013|Affordable Care Act, Prevention|

A new Ohio State University study found smokers cost businesses about $6,000 more than nonsmokers every year. The researchers used the cost of increased absenteeism, lost productivity, smoke breaks and health care to reach the $6K/year figure – not surprisingly, smoke breaks account for the biggest share of the cost. More and more businesses are creating stronger worksite wellness programs. Arizona, for example, has [...]

Worksite Wellness- a Critical Public Health Lever

Chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes cause 70% of deaths in the US these days… absorbing 75% of the $2.5T spent on annual medical care costs. When it comes to employee healthcare expenses- the indirect costs of poor health like absenteeism, disability, and reduced work output can be several times higher than direct medical [...]