MHA's Executive Briefing

Declining workplace health costs hospital employers

Although hospital staff work to improve the health of patients, their own health seems to be slipping, and it's costing hospital employers a pretty penny. Between 2005 and 2009 the health of the U.S. workforce dropped 2 percent, costing employers an average $670 a year to address their healthcare issues, concludes a new study by Thomson Reuters. Read more here.

AHA backs bill to support wellness programs

The American Hospital Association on Oct. 26 voiced support for the Health Promotion FIRST Act (S. 866), which would provide federal resources to help develop and implement programs that promote health and wellness. The bill would increase planning and funding for health promotion through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health and other research entities.

“Many employers – including hospitals – already recognize that unhealthy behaviors negatively affect employee job performance, leading to absenteeism, lost work time and less productivity,” AHA said in a letter to bill sponsor Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN). “These organizations have introduced wellness and health promotion programs, while providing incentives to quit smoking, classes on effective weight loss strategies, programs to help employees manage chronic conditions and much more.”