Employers considering additional preventive health services have a practical problem. They can see the cost of a new benefit in a proposal, but the value of avoiding future illness or a later disability claim is much harder to measure. A new report from GreenShield brings that difficulty into focus, offering interesting evidence alongside questions that plan sponsors still need answered.
On October 29, GreenShield said its integrated insurance and health services generated $1.43 in value for each dollar invested among members with chronic disease who used the insurer's health services. The company attributed that figure to lower mental health and chronic disease claims, with any savings from absenteeism or disability outside the calculation. GreenShield also reported that 43 per cent of its members living with chronic disease used mental health medication or services…