PREVENTABLE Medical Costs

How much are you spending on your combating disease? 

Better yet, how much could you save??

How much is your health worth?

Top 10 Reasons People Go Bankrupt

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/simple-thrifty-living/top-10-reasons-people-go-_b_6887642.html

"1. Medical Expenses

A recent Harvard University study showed that medical expenses account for approximately 62 percent of personal bankruptcies in the US. Interestingly, the study also showed that 72 percent of those who filed for bankruptcy due to medical expenses had some type of health insurance, thus debunking the myth that only the uninsured face financial catastrophes due to medical-related expenses."

From http://stateofobesity.org/healthcare-costs-obesity/

(From 2006) Currently, estimates for these costs range from $147 billion to nearly $210 billion per year.¹ In addition, obesity is associated with job absenteeism, costing approximately $4.3 billion annually² and with lower productivity while at work, costing employers $506 per obese worker per year.³  

As a person's BMI increases, so do the number of sick days, medical claims and healthcare costs.⁴ For instance:

• Obese adults spend 42 percent more on direct healthcare costs than adults who are a healthy weight.⁵

• Per capita healthcare costs for severely or morbidly obese adults (BMI >40) are 81 percent higher than for healthy weight adults.⁶ In 2000, around $11 billion was spent on medical expenditures for morbidly obese U.S. adults.

• Moderately obese (BMI between 30 and 35) individuals are more than twice as likely as healthy weight individuals to be prescribed prescription pharmaceuticals to manage medical conditions.⁷

• Costs for patients presenting at emergency rooms with chest pains are 41 percent higher for severely obese patients, 28 percent higher for obese patients and 22 percent higher for overweight patients than for healthy- weight patients.^8v

Physical Inactivity in the United States

Eighty percent of American adults do not meet the government's national physical activity recommendations for aerobic and muscle strengthening. Around 45 percent of adults are not sufficiently active to achieve health benefits. Around $117 billion in healthcare costs are associated with inadequate physical activity. Adults who are inactive pay $1,437 more per year in healthcare costs than physically active adults. 
http://stateofobesity.org/physical-inactivity/


Diabetes 

Nationwide, diabetes rates have nearly doubled in the past 20 years — from 5.5 percent (1994) to 9.3 percent in 2012. More than 29 million American adults have diabetes and another 86 million have prediabetes. The CDC projects that one-in-three adults could have diabetes by 2050. More than one-quarter of seniors (ages 65 and older) have diabetes (25.9 percent or 11 million seniors). Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for around $245 billion in medical costs and lost productivity each year. (Note: The reported diabetes rates are crude rates from 2011-2014 and age-adjusted rates for 2015.)


Is it working?

http://stateofobesity.org/rates/

Top Drugs taken in 2014

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/health/medical-costs/commonly-prescribed-drugs-america/

Cost of radiation for Cancer treatment 

http://ascopubs.org/doi/abs/10.1200/JOP.2015.005694
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/849474

How much would a heart attack cost you? 

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-much-would-a-heart-attack-cost-you/

"According to an article from the National Business Group on Health, the average total cost of a severe heart attack--including direct and indirect costs--is about $1 million. Direct costs include charges for hospitals, doctors and prescription drugs, while the indirect costs include lost productivity and time away from work. The average cost of a less severe heart attack is about $760,000. Amortized over 20 years, that's $50,000 per year for a severe heart attack and $38,000 per year for a less severe heart attack."

¹ Cawley J and Meyerhoefer C. The Medical Care Costs of Obesity: An Instrumental Variables Approach. Journal of Health Economics, 31(1): 219-230, 2012; And Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen, et al. Annual Medical Spending Attributable to Obesity. Health Affairs, 2009.

² Cawley J, Rizzo JA, Haas K. Occupation-specific Absenteeism Costs Associated with Obesity and Morbid Obesity. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 49(12):1317?24, 2007.

³ Gates D, Succop P, Brehm B, et al. Obesity and presenteeism: The impact of body mass index on workplace productivity. J Occ Envir Med, 50(1):39-45, 2008.

⁴ The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the American Stroke Association, and the American Heart Association. A Nation at Risk: Obesity in the United States, A Statistical Sourcebook. Dallas, TX: American Heart Association, 2005. (accessed April 14, 2008).

⁵ Finkelstein EA, Trogdon JG, Cohen JW, Dietz W. Annual Medical Spending Attributable to Obesity: Payer-and Service-Specific Estimates. Health Affairs, 28(5): w822-831, 2009.

⁶ Arterburn DE, Maciejewski ML, Tsevat J. Impact of morbid obesity on medical expenditures in adults. Int J Obes, 29(3): 334-339, 2005.

⁷ Teuner CM, Menn P, Heier M, Holle R, John J, Wolfenstetter SB. Impact of BMI and BMI change on future drug expenditures in adults: results from the MON-ICA/KORA cohort study. BMC Health Services Research, 13(424), 2013.

⁸ Peitz GW, et al. Association of body mass index with increased cost of care and length of stay for emergency department patients with chest pain and dyspnea. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes, 7(2): 292-298, 2014.

⁹ Trust for America's Health. Prevention for a Healthier America: Investments in Disease Prevention Yield Significant Savings, Stronger Communities. Washington, D.C.: Trust for America's Health, 2008. (accessed April 2013).