Cancer Leading Cause Of Long-Term Absence From Work
More employees filed long-term disability claims for cancer than for any other illness in 2005, according to an annual report on disability trends released by insurance provider UnumProvident. Cancer was the leading cause of long-term absences from work for the fifth year in a row, the report said, with breast cancer making up nearly a quarter of all cancer claims.
Cancer was given as the reason for disability in 12% of the long-term claims filed with the insurer, the report indicated. The findings are based on data from UnumProvident's disability database, which tracks 26.8 million covered individuals and some 178,000 employer policyholders. The company received more than 412,000 new disability claims in 2005 and paid $4 billion in disability benefits to individuals and their families.
Citing estimates from the National Institutes of Health, UnumProvident researchers said cancer-related costs in the United States amounted to $209.9 billion in 2005. Of this figure, direct medical costs accounted for $74 billion, the cost of lost productivity due to illness for $17.5 billion, and the cost of lost productivity due to premature death for $118.4 billion.
"The effects of cancer touch countless employers from coast to coast," said chief medical officer at UnumProvident, Constantine Gean, MD. "The prevalence of cancer highlights the fact that we as a society still have work to do in encouraging prevention, promoting early detection and generating treatment options. Frankly, employers can have a big impact on these factors."
According to the report, the other leading causes of long-term disability claims in 2005 were complications of pregnancy (10%); joint, muscle, or connective tissue disease (10%); back injuries (8%); and cardiovascular disease (8%). The top five reasons for short-term claims were normal pregnancy (18%); injuries, not including those of the back (10%); digestive or intestinal diseases (8%); pregnancy complications (8%); and reproductive or urinary system diseases (7%).
Researchers noted that many employers are making efforts to control the costs associated with lost time due to illness. While some companies are adjusting health care coverage or requiring employees who smoke to pay higher premiums, other employers are seeking to encourage good habits through wellness programs and healthy food options in the workplace.
"As employers continue to struggle with escalating health care benefits costs, a small investment in preventative measures will no doubt reap savings in the long term," said Gean. "So many cancer diagnoses can be avoided through healthier habits like not smoking, getting regular cancer screening tests, eating well, exercising and avoiding the harmful rays of the sun."
