Bad habits from the pandemic can (and need to) be broken

The United States and its workforce is increasingly aging, obese, and suffering from chronic disease. In the U.S. alone, in a trend that started in 2011 and will continue through 2030, 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day. In 2018, the CDC reported a full 24% of the workforce is 55 or older, and that number is growing. The CDC found arthritis and hypertension affect, respectively, 47% and 44% of workers over 55. Today’s top causes of death include heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and diabetes — and all appear far more prevalently among today’s workforce than in generations past because of both age and a more sedentary lifestyle.  

This overwhelming trend is rightly of great concern to today’s employers. That’s not simply because of concerns about productivity and absenteeism. It’s perhaps of most immense concern because of the tremendous, ongoing rise in healthcare costs. In the last 50 years, on a per capita basis, health spending has increased sharply, as measured in constant 2020 dollars, from $1,875 per person in 1970 to $12,531 in 2020. Despite various health reforms, costs have more than tripled in the last decade alone. 

Read more: How the “family glitch” in the Affordable Care Act is making healthcare unaffordable

If all that doesn’t sound bad enough, COVID has made everything especially worse for national health in the last two years. Surveys show that millions of us have gained weight, developed other bad habits that impact our health, such as too much screen time, sleeping too much or not enough, and we’ve reported massively increased levels of mental stress. If ever there was a moment ripe for a radical new approach in the way we treat chronic disease for Americans, it is now. 

Below we review the many ways national health has declined since the beginning of the pandemic, and argue that the best solution going forward — for employees, employers, and ultimately even government payers — is a new paradigm of habit-based treatment. This method has already been embraced by, and achieved proven results at, major brands including Aetna, Levi Strauss and Canon. 

COVID exacerbated decline in both mental and physical health
How bad have things deteriorated? One study surveying 15 million people found that during the pandemic 39% of patients gained weight (i.e., more than 2.5 lbs.) — with about 10% gaining more than 12.5 pounds, and 2% gaining over 27.5 pounds. Depression rates increased dramatically. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that as of June 2020, nearly one-third of US adults were suffering from anxiety or depression, and the number of young adults at risk for clinical depression increased during the pandemic by about 90 percent. U.S. life expectancy is already down 1.8 years since the pandemic started.

Psychological stress became an ever-greater concern. Various studies reported increases in post-traumatic stress disorder, depressive disorders, delirium, somatic symptoms, panic disorder, psychosis, harmful substance use, despair, self-harm, and even suicides. Researchers reported that the pandemic has had drastic negative effects on every segment of human society in both socio-psychological and physical ways.

Why today’s standard healthcare treatment model doesn’t work
It’s important to re-evaluate the way we understand and measure health. Too much of what today is called healthcare is actually “sick care” — it treats disease after it’s appeared, rather than preventing it. This posture is reinforced by today’s predominant fee-for-service model, which literally requires that patients get sick before treatment can be rendered and participants in the system can be paid. The best approach to mitigating chronic health risks is to help employees establish healthy new habits, and the right kind of healthcare platform will help employees do exactly that. 

Read more: Do people have access to the care they need? A look at healthcare in America

Effective platforms help employee workforces at large companies change their habits and change their lives. Key to these programs’ success is a personalized approach that assesses both physical health measures — including waist circumference, blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol — as well as key behavioral measures related to anxiety, depression, sleep, and mood. Every engaged employee has customized nutritional and exercise prescriptions, as well as a behavioral coach who doesn’t simply provide instructions but who serves as a confidant, accountability partner and resource to help them establish new healthy habits for life.   

Smart platforms track multiple metrics and achieve success in multiple ways. Three important metrics include how often employees reach their health goals, how fully they remain engaged and stay with their new habits over time, and how likely they are to refer others to the program. Ideally, these measures should in each case exceed 80 percent. Further measures track the anticipated and usually realized decline in healthcare costs for a brand, year over year, as they build and maintain a healthier workforce. 

Deep challenges, bright prospects
Employers today evaluating future healthcare expenses for their workers realize they face steep cost pressures. At the same time, their employee workforces are increasingly plagued by chronic diseases and face additional mental and physical health trials because of the pandemic, which could prove life-threating if not addressed.

A personalized platform that helps people create positive lifelong habits promises a revolution of relief. Major companies are already finding it works: It helps employees develop new and healthy habits, become happier and more productive, and ultimately require healthcare that is far more affordable to the company.