Online Report : Indian council for research on International economic relations : Impact of Preventive Health care on Indian Industry and Economy Findings and Policy Recommendations by Ali Mehdi

Key Facts & Findings:

• Per capita government health expenditure in India is one of the lowest in the world – US$7, as against US$2,548 in the United States.
  

• The estimated loss in India's national income as a result of heart diseases,stroke and diabetes in 2005 was US$9 billion, and this is projected to exceed US$200 billion over the next 10 years.
  

• Almost a quarter of respondent firms lose approximately 14 per cent of their annual working days due to sickness.
  

• In a highly competitive corporate environment, companies cannot afford the absence of their employees due to sickness, etc., or a poor performance atthe workplace due to poor health.
  

• Preventive health care is the most cost-effective strategy not only for a country with scarce financial resources, but also for resource-rich companies whose rising health spending is affecting their business results and competitiveness.
  

• More than 80 per cent of American companies with 50 or more employees have some form of preventive health care programmes for their employees.
  

• Two-thirds of respondent firms in India have preventive health care as part of their corporate governance strategy. However, only less than one-third make provision for the whole range of preventive health care measures for their employees.
  

• Well-designed employee wellness programmes create 25 per cent reduction in health-plan costs, sick leave, disability pay and workers' compensation.
  

• Reducing just one health risk increases an employee's on-the-job productivity by 9 per cent and cuts absenteeism by 2 per cent.
  

• 82 per cent of respondent firms agree that preventive health care measures increase a firm's productivity and profitability.
  

• 98 per cent of respondent employees who have undergone preventive health check-ups felt that these were beneficial in terms of a better quality of life and performance at work. Even those who did not undergo such check-ups felt  that such benefits accrue.
  

• 91 per cent of respondent employees want employers to offer preventive health care vouchers to them.

Please read the complete report at http://bit.ly/rekW5T