When we talk about how employers can impact the health of their workers, we typically focus on the ways companies can reduce costs by helping employees become healthier overall by losing weight or quitting smoking.
But there is very little talk about how employers respond to employees who are critically ill. For instance, what are the steps employers can take to make sure their workers get adequate cancer treatment?
In a new report on cancer in the workplace, the Northeast Business Group on Health outlines a number of ways that employers can respond to cancer more effectively. Understanding the cancer care included in the group health insurance plan should be an important step when assessing a benefits plan, the group argues.
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"The high cost of cancer care is a big concern for employers, but even before addressing those costs, they want to understand what, exactly, it is they are purchasing," said NEBGH president Laurel Pickering.
According to the report, the cost of cancer care is growing at a rate far faster than general health care costs, which already outpace general economic growth. While only 1 percent of health insurance claims relate to cancer, treatment of the disease accounts for 12 percent of all employer-paid health costs in the U.S.
For employers, the tragedy of cancer obviously threatens much more than big hospital bills. Losing workers to the illness — temporarily or permanently — is where even more money is lost. While employers spent $125 billion on cancer-related direct medical costs in 2010, they incurred $139 billion in indirect costs related to cancer.
But it remains very challenging for employers to get data on the outcomes of various cancer treatments, a frustrating reality for many businesses.
"I can't get answers about outcomes," said one anonymous employer quoted in the report. "My plans always respond with information about activities instead of outcomes."
The complexity of cancer makes establishing clear guidelines that would help employers design a benefit package difficult. There are many different forms of cancer and many different degrees of severity that react differently to various treatments.
One potentially promising innovation is genetic testing, which can put employees at-risk of certain cancers on alert. Although genetic testing by employers and insurers is controversial, a poll conducted in July showed a large majority of employees support including such tests as part of company wellness programs.
In addition, the NEBGH advocates businesses working together with insurers to design benefit plans that favor high-performing cancer treatment centers. But identifying those will continue to be difficult unless businesses use their leverage to demand answers, the report suggests.
"I feel like we're left on our own when it comes to value-based purchasing for cancer," said another anonymous employer cited in the report. "We need a coalition that can provide influence in creating more standard approaches."
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