News Archive
Business Insurance Online
Apr 24, 2019
"“I think the magnitude was not something we anticipated, but we did anticipate that there would be more than a trivial number of people who would have some use of prescription medications,” said Brian Gifford, Oakland-based director of research and analytics for the independent research firm that helps companies link data with health programs to enhance productivity and business performance."
Anchorage Daily News Online
Apr 24, 2019
"Health and productivity research group the Integrated Benefits Institute estimates that lost productivity due to illness costs U.S. employers about $530 billion annually."
Law.com
Apr 22, 2019
"Use of prescription pain medications are associated with approximately 261 lost workdays per 1,000 workers per month, according to a new study released by the Integrated Benefits Institute"
Corporate Wellness Magazine
Apr 19, 2019
"Another very sizeable consideration is the fact that ill-health related productivity loss is estimated to cost the U.S. economy in excess of $530 Billion annually, based upon 2018 data from the Integrated Benefits Institute, a San Francisco-based leader in benchmarking in the health and productivity market. Similarly, the lost productivity is the U.S. amounts to over 1.4 Billion days of absence or impaired performance annually."
Workers Comp Insights
Apr 18, 2019
"According to a study from the Integrated Benefits Institute (IBI), about a third of the workforce uses prescription pain medications, most under the treatment of a physician. “Opioids, Pain and Absence” The Productivity Implications of Substance Use Among U.S. Workers” is their analysis on workplace costs related to problematic use of pain relievers."
Human Resource Executive Online
Apr 18, 2019
"When it comes to addressing the opioids epidemic, the implications for employers often center on the risk of on-the-job accidents or difficulties in filling job vacancies in areas heavily affected by addiction and dependence. But according to the IBI study, “this may not only underrepresent the more pervasive productivity impact of lost work time, but also obscures the larger issues of chronic pain and substance use more generally.”"
BenefitsPRO
Apr 18, 2019
"“The high rates of prescription pain medicines among employees indicates a much larger issue for employers than lost productivity,” says IBI researcher Erin Peterson, MPH, the report’s first author. “The significant number of sick day absences by employees who use pain relievers without problems likely doesn’t represent the full impact. As most people abusing opioids started with prescribed medications, this is a very large number of people at risk for developing problematic behaviors associated with pain relievers.”"
Business Insurance Online
Apr 17, 2019
"One in three workers reported using pain relievers with the majority of those on prescriptions drugs and under 5% of workers reported abuse of pain relievers or dependence, according to a study released Wednesday by the Integrated Benefits Institute."
Employee Benefit Adviser Online
Apr 17, 2019
"“We’re in real market transition right now, and employers are finally driving this in a way they haven’t driven it before,” says Tom Parry, president of the Integrated Benefits Institute"
Employee Benefit News
Apr 9, 2019
Employers are not only looking for individual solutions; they’re turning to one another to increase their market power and to make meaningful changes for themselves and their employees.
“We’re in real market transition right now, and employers are finally driving this in a way they haven’t driven it before,” says Tom Parry, president of the Integrated Benefits Institute
FierceHealthcare
Mar 15, 2019
"As price and upfront cost continue to dominate the headlines, a substantive policy conversation among all different healthcare stakeholders about what constitutes value is needed. Without such inclusive dialogue, the value narrative will continue to revolve solely around “whether to pay or not to pay” for a particular intervention."
Future of Business and Tech
Mar 11, 2019
"You’d be hard-pressed to find a CEO or CFO that would accept their business expending the equivalent of almost two-thirds of their health care dollars on lost productivity, and most would agree we can’t afford to ignore the health of our workforce. "
The Wellable Blog
Mar 6, 2019
"Unwell employees cost U.S. employers $530 billion in productivity each year. That lack of productivity translates to decreased innovation, creativity, and engagement. Research indicates that well-being closely relates to key health outcomes such as lower rates of healthcare utilization, workplace absenteeism and workplace performance, reduction in obesity status, and the occurrence of chronic diseases."
National Observer
Feb 20, 2019
"Treating the psychological effects of climate change won’t come cheap. The Integrated Benefits Institute, a nonprofit insurance research group, notes that mood disorders lead to lost productivity and expensive short-term disability leaves."
Mother Jones Online
Feb 18, 2019
"For every 1,000 US employees, mood disorders in the workforce cost about $232,000 in excess health care treatments and lost work time, and disability claims for mood disorders cost about $9,800 per employee. “These are not trivial,” says Brian Gifford, IBI’s director of research and analytics."
Employee Benefit News
Feb 13, 2019
"Companies need to look beyond just the financial numbers, experts say. Instead, look at the bigger picture, from health risk and claims data to how new treatments and therapies can impact employee productivity and presenteeism, as a way to improve customer service and save on health costs."
WorkersCompensation
Feb 8, 2019
"Bitter cold temperatures drive some workers to experience mood disorders, according to new research. The findings are especially noteworthy, as claims associated with mental health issues typically incur more lost work days than many other conditions."
Buffalo Business First
Jan 18, 2019
"A recent report by Integrated Benefits Institute found that lost productivity from illness costs employers $530 billion annually, or 60 cents for every dollar they spend on health coverage."
WebWire
Dec 10, 2018
"Employers ... spend more than $880 billion on healthcare."
Employee Benefit Adviser
Nov 29, 2018
“When two large companies merge in different segments of the healthcare industry, one of two outcomes is often the case: better integrate their operations to drive broader value to employers — in this case, better medication adherence, better care, lower costs and greater productivity. Or operate the two entities as stand-alone with a segmented profit-maximizing focus. We’ll watch closely to see which model prevails.”
Employee Benefit News
Nov 20, 2018
“It’s critical that employers understand how strategies for managing healthcare spend — such as cost- shifting to employees or ensuring better access and more cost-effective care — can impact the kinds of conditions that drive illness-related lost productivity.”
The Fiscal Times
Nov 16, 2018
“To put this in further context, the cost of poor health to employers is greater than the combined revenues of Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix, EBAY and Adobe.”
BenefitsPRO
Nov 15, 2018
"Not only do employees covered by sick time, workers’ compensation, disability and family and medical leave benefits miss about 893 million days a year due to illness, they also rack up an estimated 527 million lost work days due to impaired performance."
Workers Compensation
Nov 15, 2018
"US employers spent $880 billion for healthcare-related expenses in 2017, which averages out to 60 cents of every dollar that employers spent."
Forbes
Nov 15, 2018
“There’s not a CEO or CFO that can placidly accept their business expending the equivalent of almost two-thirds of their health care dollars on lost productivity. Illness costs this country hundreds of billions of dollars and we can no longer afford to ignore the health of our workforce.”
Market Screener
Nov 8, 2018
"[E]mployers would save $4.4 million in lost productivity costs ($3.2 million from reduced short-term disability incidence, and another $1.2 million from declining disability duration)."
Pfizer
Nov 7, 2018
"An Integrated Benefits Institute study of 17 employer groups found that if all 5,483 employees with RA who were previously non-adherent to RA medicines began to fill their prescriptions at the same rate as those who did adhere, their employers would save $4.4 million in lost productivity costs."
Pfizer
Nov 7, 2018
"Researchers at the Integrated Benefits Institute found that a decrease in rheumatoid arthritis medicines led to increased incidence and longer duration of short-term disability leave."
Employee Benefit News
Aug 10, 2018
"IBI's research shows how often employers’ short-term disability (STD) insurance policies incur claims for several conditions impacted by climate change. These result in lost income for employees and lost productivity for employers and society-at-large—all of which may become more severe in the wake of extreme climate events."
BenefitsPRO
Jul 5, 2018
"Employers may tackle time away from work program issues individually to meet an immediate need, or collectively as a comprehensive strategy. Such a strategy would include data analytics across health and lost-time programs, absence policies that meet today’s needs for the employer and employee, health and wellness programs targeting modifiable health behaviors, and absence program administration that is aligned to operational goals."
American Journal of Pharmacy Benefits
Jun 20, 2018
“Even though migraine is common, employers have not focused on it because the treatments have been relatively inexpensive. The productivity losses we found in this report should help a lot of companies understand the real impact it has on their bottom line—especially considering that migraine is both underdiagnosed and undertreated."
The Journal Gazette
Jun 17, 2018
"Tobacco use, the opioid epidemic and obesity together cost Indiana more than $10 billion in additional health care costs last year. ... A study by economists with the Integrated Benefits Institute in 2012 showed U.S. employers lost $576 billion in lost productivity and increases in insurance costs."