Having even one problem drinker on your medical plan – including a covered family member with abuse issues â.” can cost your corporation big.
Some estimates place the potential cost as high as $35,000 a year per case. What’ your company’s risk?
A lot of wellness programs are geared toward managing employees’ health risks associated with diseases like diabetes or asthma.
But unless the health promotion program is integrated with an worker assistance program (EAP), chances are alcohol abuse-related risks go undetected. Here are two strategies that’re getting good results.
1. Include alcohol in health testings
When you already sponsor confidential worker health-risk assessments, it’s easy to screen for alcohol risks, too. This may be as simple as making sure three questions are added to the current appraisal -
o Just how often do you have a drink containing alcohol?
o Precisely how many alcoholic drinks do you have on a average day? And
o How often in the last month have you had six or more drinks?
For male personnel, more than 14 drinks per week, or one or more episodes of heavy drinking suggests a possible problem. for women, more than seven drinks in a week, or one or more episodes of drinking four or more drinks, is a red flag.
Alternative – If you don’t offer appraisals, you are able to refer workforce to a free, confidential internet based screening.
Benchmarking tools
A lot of specialists say drug-free worksite policies and staff member assistance programs (EAPs) are the two most proven solutions within companies’ grasp for minimizing the risks and costs of alcohol abuse by health plan enrollees.
To see if sponsoring an EAP makes financial sense, you can calculate your own firm’s current cost risk for free here. Plug in your corporation kind, locale and number of staff.
You’ll get a personalized estimate of each year direct (absenteeism, disability, ER visits) and indirect (presenteeism, turnover) costs from alcohol misuse by a covered employee or family member.
To design a drug-free worksite policy â.” or check when your existing one is up to par and compliant with the law – more guidance is available here.
Wellness Proposals