Cost of Group Healthcare up, but why?

It is reported today in the newspaper and on the television that nationally premiums are up around 9% this year for group healthcare plans per family. Also reported is that the EMPLOYER is the one who is bearing the cost of this increase for the most part. Obviously, this gets passed on to the employee in the form of fewer and smaller pay raises in the coming year, as well as slowing hiring of additional employees.

However, for purposes of this article, I want to look at reasons WHY the premiums are up. There are a lot of political thoughts out there, such as:

---Premiums were raised with expectations of a faster economic recovery, which would lead to an increase in the use of health-care services by workers.

---The rising cost of health care services

---The drive for profit by insurance carriers.

---It has been suggested that insurance companies raised premiums “in anticipation of new rules that would, in 2012, require them to justify increases of more than 10%”.

Let’s look now at what I really believe the biggest culprit of increases in health care cost is in this country- the deteriorating health and increasing weight of Americans! In our agency, we have seen some accounts that have had large increases in their renewal premiums, but we have also seen some accounts that have had DECREASES in their renewal premiums as well. In most of these cases, the predominant factor for raising the premiums has been the health of the group, caused by severe obesity problems, along with other health issues.

Let’s consider these national factors:

1) Every single state in the U.S. now has more than 20% of its residents that are considered obese or morbidly obese. As a matter of fact, more than ½ of the states have more than 30% of their residents that are obese. Just 15 years ago, no states were over the 30% obese range. What does that tell you about our health care costs in the last 15 years?

2) Over 35% of American adults nationally have been diagnosed with Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, or high cholesterol. The strain this has put on our health care system is obvious. It has been stated that over 90% of these situations are caused because of obesity. As a matter of fact, the rate of growth of these diseases is growing at a 15% clip annually. Now what do you think the main cause of health care increases actually is?

3) Incidences of cancer diagnosis have more than doubled in the last 15 years. The leading cause of cancer? You guessed it- the type and amount of food we eat! In addition, an obese person is 40% more likely to get cancer of some form than a healthy person.


4) 1 out of 3 children in this country are now considered obese! That is staggering! The likelihood of those children being having debilitating diseases in adulthood because of their weight is 12 times greater! Do you think this might cause our healthcare to go up now and in the future?

I could go on and on about our health care crisis in the U.S., but I think you get the point. The problem is not the insurance carriers- they just reflect what is going on in our healthcare system. Healthcare services are going up, but mostly because of our deteriorating health as a country. Sugar is one of the leading causes of obesity in the U.S.- or should I say the overuse of sugar! There is nothing sweet about how much sugar people consume every day. According to the American Heart Association, the average adult in the U.S. takes in 30 teaspoons of added sugar a day, or a whopping 150 pounds a year, while teens pile in 50 teaspoons a day. That’s almost 3 times the amount of sugar we should be eating. The amount is shocking, and the potential health effects of excess sugar consumption are even scarier. Mounting evidence suggests that flooding your system with the sweet stuff can play a role in obesity, heart disease, and cancer. It can also impact how you look or feel, doing damage to your skin or altering your mood.

Below are 6 scary side effects of sugar overdosing that you may or may not know:

1) Tossing Back Sugary Drinks May Increase your Risk of Diabetes
Consuming sugar-sweetened beverages, such as soft drinks, fruit drinks, sugar tea and sports drinks, may increase your chances of developing Type 2 Diabetes. It has been estimated that 180,000 new cases of diabetes between 1995 and 2005 can directly be attributed to the increase in sugary drinks!

2) Following a High-Glycemic Diet May Cause Acne
According to a 2008 study published in the Journal of Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, what you eat can affect your skin. High glycemic foods, such as refined carbs, sugary drinks, and even certain fruits high in natural sugars, cause large spikes in blood sugar. Those on the high- glycemic diet experienced a 14% increase in acne problems. So your Mom was right- what you eat can affect your skin!

3) A Diet Rich in Sugar Can Hurt Your Heart
Mounting evidence suggest that sugar plays a direct role in the health of your heart. A study found that people who took in more than 17.5% of their calories from added sugars were 20%-30% more likely to have high levels of triglycerides. It also found that people who got 25% or more of their calories from added sugars were more than 3 times more likely to have low levels of HDL ( the good cholesterol).

4) Sugar Can Increase Your Chances of Depression

Eating sugar and carbs can give you a temporary mood boost- it triggers your body to release the feel-good hormone serotonin- but overloading your system with sugar seems to have the reverse effect. In fact, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine found a correlation between sugar consumption and the annual rate of depression in six countries.

5) High Blood Pressure Can Increase Your Risk of Yeast Infection
Yeast grows by feeding on sugar, so if you drink a 48 ounce Big Gulp every day, your body is going to be a fermentation tank. Yeast infections, both vaginally and in your mouth- are typically caused by an overgrowth of the bacteria Candida. When your blood sugar is high, the extra sugars in your saliva and urine provide a perfect breeding ground for the bacteria.

6) Sugar May Increase Your Risk of Cancer
While it’s not proven (but highly suspected) that sugar fuels cancer growth in the body, we do know that obesity- a likely effect of eating too much sugar- increases your risk of developing a number of cancers.

The next time you listen to a bunch of politicians screaming about our healthcare costs going up and blaming the other party and the Insurance carriers for all the problems, put down the Coke your are drinking and the M&Ms you are eating and make a difference you YOUR health!

Bobby Bland PWCA, CIC
Vice President
Commercial Risk Service