Four Major Health Trends Emerge That Could Be Costly to Employers in the Coming Year, New Springbuk Data Show

Springbuk’s 2022 Employee Health Trends Report Reveals Health Issues Reveals Emerging Trends That Employers Should Consider When Planning Next Year’s Benefits.

Springbuk, a health data analytics software company whose mission is to “prevent disease with data,” announced the release of its annual Employee Health Trends report that highlighted four key emerging health issues that will impact what benefits employers should offer their employees in the coming years. The report also provides key recommendations for benefits leaders.

In its third annual report, Springbuk evaluated the previous year’s health analytics from more than 4,000 employers and revealed four major trends: the long-term impact of COVID-19, increases in medical and Rx specialty drug spend, the ongoing utilization of telemedicine and digital mental health services, and the growing role of point solutions.

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“We share these key findings to help empower companies and their benefits leaders so they can better understand health trends that can shape their decisions on benefits strategies, plans, and programs,” said Rod Reasen, CEO of Springbuk. “The right benefits offerings have a tremendous impact on the employee experience, well-being, and a company’s ability to attract and retain talent.”

The Employee Health Trends Report 2022 brings together expertise from Springbuk data scientists, clinicians, and population health leaders. The report provides key data points and recommendations to benefit leaders.

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Some of the more noteworthy findings in this year’s report were around the long-term impact on employers related to employees diagnosed with COVID-19. With the ability to evaluate a second year’s worth of COVID-19 data, Springbuk went beyond case number trends and found that six months following a hospitalization, employers paid an average of $40,005 in 2021 — a 70% increase over the same period in the previous year. Likewise, non-hospitalized COVID-19-positive employees saw a 25% increase in healthcare costs six months after infection.

Those findings highlighted employers’ need to educate employees on COVID-19 protocols, especially for employees at higher risk (those with co-morbidities). It also could provide an opportunity for employees to implement programs aimed at reducing those underlying risks in their respective employee populations.

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