American healthcare employees spent more than $500 more on treatment last year than members of the general workforce, and that margin was even higher when healthcare spending on family members was taken into account, a new study shows.
Released today by the Healthcare business of Thomson Reuters, the study suggests that not only did healthcare workers spend more on care, but their families were less healthy. Hospital employees and their dependents had an 8.6 percent greater illness burden and were more likely to be diagnosed with long-term illnesses such as asthma, diabetes and hypertension.
They also made fewer visits to physicians but were 22 percent more likely to visit the emergency room.
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“Ideally, the healthcare workforce would be a model for healthy behaviors and the appropriate use of medical resources,” said Dr. Raymond Fabius, chief medical officer for the Healthcare business of Thomson Reuters, in a news release. “Unfortunately, our data suggests that the opposite is true today.”
The study looked at healthcare utilization by 1.1 million hospital workers and their families over one year compared with 17.8 million health plan members from other industries. It did not analyze factors that may have contributed to higher spending by healthcare workers.
According to Thomson Reuters’ calculations, a health system with 16,000 employees could save $1.5 million annually for every 1 percent reduction in health risk.
“Hospitals that tackle this issue can strengthen their business performance and community service,” Fabius said.
