Measuring the Economic Impact of Health for Employer-Community Collaboratives

Employer-community partnerships play critical roles in improving health and economic well-being. Join the session to learn how FTI Center for Healthcare Economics and Policy partnered with a Nashville area Chamber led cross-sector collaborative (providers, employers, civic leaders) to measure the economic impact of health to inform strategies and engage stakeholders for change. The lead author of the Nashville report shares how extensive commercial claims data were used to quantify economic costs of chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity for Nashville workforce and its peer cities. Businesses seek meaningful measures of costs, including absenteeism, lost productivity and medical costs for workforce and community. These exceeded a billion dollars in Nashville. The session includes perspectives from Nashville business leaders on how findings informed change and can serve as a model for others. Dr. Goetzel provides research insights about how businesses and public-private partnerships use metrics and research for engagement and change. After completing this session, participants will be able to: (1) Describe how cross-sector collaboratives of businesses, health systems, insurers, public health and civic leaders can develop actionable data on workforce and community to support initiatives to improve health and well-being, (2) Understand best in class metrics, methods for identifying impacts on workforce, the impact of specific health conditions and behaviors on workforce productivity and medical costs in a region, and (3) describe the pivotal role of employers in working as partners with employees to prevent onset or to manage chronic conditions providing opportunities and savings for and from change.