[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 148 (Tuesday, October 2, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2042-E2043]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           INTRODUCTION OF THE HEALTHY WORKFORCE ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM UDALL

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 2, 2007

  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Madam Speaker, it is no secret that health 
care costs in the United States are sharply increasing. Nor is it any 
longer a surprise to hear that the rate of chronic illnesses and 
diseases has been on the rise. Left unabated, the continuing rise in 
both preventable illnesses and health care costs will put even more 
pressure on our already fragile health care system and threatens to 
bankrupt our Federal budget. These trends also have alarming 
implications for employers, both directly in terms of costs for 
employer-provided health care plans and indirectly through higher rates 
of absenteeism.
  With all of these concerns in mind, I rise today to introduce the 
Healthy Workforce Act of 2007. In so doing, I am pleased to be joined 
by my colleague from California, Representative Mary Bono. I would also 
like to thank Senator Harkin, who is truly a leader on preventive 
health care issues, and who is the original sponsor of this legislation 
in the Senate.
  The Healthy Workforce Act of 2007 provides a tax credit to businesses 
that offer comprehensive wellness programs to their employees, thereby 
promoting prevention of high cost chronic diseases. This tax credit 
will encourage business to raise health awareness through health 
education and health risk assessments. It will promote a supportive 
environment to encourage employee participation in workplace wellness 
programs, through offering meaningful incentive to participating 
employees, such as a reduction in health insurance premiums. And it 
will encourage employees to lead a healthy lifestyle through 
counseling, seminars or on-line programs. Keeping workers healthy in 
the first place can go a long way to reducing the growing health care 
costs to employers.
  And Madam Speaker, these increasing costs are significant to 
employers. Average

[[Page E2043]]

employer medical costs increased 72 percent between 2000 and 2006. Some 
companies report spending more than 50 percent of their profits to 
cover these expenses. Employers are also increasingly bearing costs of 
diet-related chronic disease and obesity. For example, obesity-related 
health conditions cost employers approximately $33 billion in health 
care and other indirect costs. However, proactive treatment would 
significantly reduce costs. The proactive treatment of hypertension 
costs about $1,000 per year, whereas treatment for a heart attack costs 
a minimum of $50,000, not including the costs which result from the 
time off and loss of productivity.
  Employer spending on health promotion and chronic disease prevention 
is a good investment in our future. And this legislation targets 
primarily smaller and mid-sized companies who would otherwise have 
difficulty making the initial investment needed to support such 
programs. Workplace wellness programs are economical, averaging $30 
to $200 per employee and studies have reported a proven rate of return 
on investment within 12 to 18 months, ranging from $2 to $10 for each 
dollar invested.

  Adaptable lifestyle factors such as smoking, sedentary lifestyle, 
poor nutrition, unmanaged stress, and obesity account for approximately 
half of premature deaths in the United States. Spending on chronic 
diseases related to lifestyle and other preventable diseases accounts 
for an estimated 75 percent of total healthcare spending and it is 
estimated that by 2014 our country's total health care expenditures 
will be $3.6 trillion.
  Clearly we cannot continue down this path. We must shift the focus of 
our nation's health care system to prevention and wellness programs. In 
so doing, we can reduce health care costs, improve health, improve 
quality of life, and boost productivity. Unfortunately, a very small 
percentage of health care spending is devoted to health promotion. The 
national investment in prevention is currently estimated to be less 
than 5 percent of annual health care costs. Our Nation needs a new 
approach to healthcare--one that puts prevention front and center.
  The Healthy Workforce Act is one piece of the larger reform needed to 
our Nation's health care system. But it is a critical piece. By 
providing incentives for America's businesses to provide wellness 
programs for employees, they and their employees can focus on chronic 
disease prevention and health promotion, reduce health care costs, 
boost productivity, and improve the health and quality of life of 
working Americans.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in seeking a more effective approach 
to preventing chronic diseases and providing incentives for employers 
and employees facing rising health care costs by cosponsoring the 
Healthy Workforce Act.

                          ____________________