Noting that the U.S. surgeon general has said that quitting smoking provides “significant and immediate health benefits,” the data shows that former smokers are more similar to nonsmokers than they are to current smokers when it comes to healthrelated productivity losses from absenteeism and presenteeism. Even though former smokers were, on average, older than both nonsmokers and current smokers in the survey, “the average annual cost of healthrelated productivity losses was lower for former smokers than current smokers.” The best approach to controlling health care claims is to encourage employees to adopt healthy behaviors. Many people are reluctant to modify their health related behavior, …show more content…
More importantly, employers will take that first step in encouraging and assisting employees in living a healthier life today by offering behavior modification incentives while assisting them in achieving their personal health goals. V. Conclusions People generally want the freedom to do as they please without interference, but they generally do not want to suffer the consequences for their freedom. There is also reluctance for many employers to mandate that employees modify their health related behavior even when that behavior is job related (i.e. public safety employees). To control health care costs and to foster an overall positive workplace, all individuals must begin taking responsibility for their behavior and be held accountable for the consequences. The projected health care cost trend is unsustainable. Organizations must act now to return their health plan’s sustainability. If 70% of health care costs are due to modifiable behavior (CIGNA), organizations have an obligation to the public to control these costs,