The silver lining to employer-covered weight-loss surgery: The costly procedure you were bemoaning actually ends up saving you money.
And not only does the surgery save employers money in the long run, it doesn’t take long to recoup the initial losses.
On average, employers get back the costs of employee weight-loss surgery (between $16,000 to $25,000) within two to four years. That’s according to a study of the health care costs of over 3,000 patients who had bariatric surgery — the largest study of its kind.
In the study, researchers looked at the healthcare costs of over 3,000 participants who underwent the weight-loss surgery for up to five years to determine if the surgery reduced medical costs.
Other studies have shown that weight-loss surgery reduces the risk of chronic illness like heart disease, diabetes, depression and other health problems common in people who are morbidly obese.
But why wait until surgery is the only solution to your employees’ health problems? As we reported previously, there are some remarkably easy and cost-effective ways to make wellness a permanent part of your company’s culture.
