Health care expenses are expected to jump by 7.7 percent in 2009 to $9,513 per employee, according to Mercer’s 2008 National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans. The survey said many employers would attempt to offset the increase by shifting costs to employees through increased deductibles, co-pays, and cost sharing. Many experts caution further cost shifting to employees. According to Hewitt Associates, the average employee contribution for health insurance has increased nearly 150 percent in less than 10 years while the average out-of-pocket employee costs for deductibles and co-payments rose 115 percent. Mercer is a New York-based human resource and consulting company. Hewitt Associates is an Illinois-based human resources outsourcing and consulting firm.

Up to 70% of health care costs are preventable. The American Journal of Health Promotion found that about half of medical claims over 6 years are associated with risk factors such as unhealthy eating, inactivity, and high stress. An estimated 30-70% perccent of health costs could be avoided, even in the short-term, with programs such as medical self-care, health risk appraisals, stress reduction, injury care, and high-risk pregnancy education.
 

Dr. Kenneth Cooper is Founder, Chairman, and CEO of the world-renowned Cooper Aerobics Center.  As one of the world's leading authorities on preventive medicine, Dr. Coopers’s new podcast interview with Scott Foster describes key business strategies, thought leading trends, and personal advice.  Listen to the free podcast by following this link, www.wellnessroi.com.