Employers Must Promote Healthy Lifestyles For Workers To Lower Costs, Health Officials Say

Do you know what your blood pressure and cholesterol readings are? Your employer may want to know soon as it will save money to ensure you are working on a healthy lifestyle..or are least participating an an employer offered program...BD

Employers must promote good public policy, healthy lifestyles among workers and must understand determinants of health to reduce health care costs, Louisiana health officials said on Tuesday, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports. State Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Fred Cerise and Gery Barry, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, spoke at the Louisiana Business Group on Health board of directors meeting and corporate leadership roundtable. The group represents a coalition of employers, insurers and health care providers that are examining ways to control health care costs in the state. Barry said employers should pay attention to medical home models of health care, where a neighborhood clinic or physician manages a person's care using electronic health records, and look for ways to use such systems to reduce health costs. Cerise and Barry said employers also should adopt employee-wellness initiatives to prevent health problems among workers.