Obesity Treatments, Even When Workplace Wellness Programs Target BMI - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

▶

Oct 22, 2023 255 likes •407 views

The Obesity Coverage Gap: Health Insurance Often Excludes Obesity Treatments, Even When Workplace Wellness Programs Target BMI Elizabeth Ruth Wilson Theodore Kyle Joseph Nadglowski Fatima Cody Stanford Health Insurance/Obesity Treatment

SLIDE 1

The Obesity Coverage Gap: Health Insurance Often Excludes Obesity Treatments, Even When Workplace Wellness Programs Target BMI

Elizabeth Ruth Wilson Theodore Kyle Joseph Nadglowski Fatima Cody Stanford

SLIDE 2

Background

Health Insurance/Obesity Treatment

SLIDE 3

Obesity Care and the ACA

Essential health benefits often exclude

– Medical obesity care – Bariatric surgery

General exclusions for obesity care

have persisted

Despite mandate to A/B rated prevention

services with no cost sharing (IBT)

SLIDE 4

ACA Benchmark Plans Often Exclude Obesity Treatment

SLIDE 5

Wellness Programs

Substantial financial incentives allowed
Based upon biometric outcomes
Including BMI
Reportedly being adopted by employers with

increasing frequency

SLIDE 6

Objectives

Measure consumer perceptions

Of coverage for obesity treatment

by their health insurance

Prevalence of wellness programs with

financial incentives based on weight or BMI

Examine shifts between 2015 and 2016

SLIDE 7

Methods

Health Insurance/Obesity Treatment

SLIDE 8

Sample Recruitment

Anonymous, voluntary online surveys
Utilizing Google Consumer Surveys
Fielded in Q1 2015 and Q1 2016
Recruited from 17,565 respondents

– 7,378 respondents with demographics

Post stratification weighting based on

– Region (IP address) – Age and gender inferred from browsing history

SLIDE 9

Respondents Answer Brief Questions to Access Premium Content

On news, reference, arts,

entertainment sites

Each respondent answers
nly 1 or 2 questions
High response rates
Wide reach
Representative of adult U.S.

Internet users

Source: McDonald et al, 2012. http://www.google.com/insights/consumersurveys/static/consumer_surveys_whitepaper.pdf

SLIDE 10

Questions

General Population

Do you have health insurance that would help pay the cost of [ ]

if you needed it?

Employed Respondents

Does your employer have a wellness program with incentives or

penalties based on your weight or BMI?

Do you have health insurance that would help pay the cost of [ ]

if you needed it?

SLIDE 11

General Population

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Bariatric Surg Medical Wt Mgmt Obesity Meds Dietitian BP Meds Doctor Hospital 2016 2015

Percentage of Respondents Answering “Yes”

“Do you have health insurance that would pay the cost of [ ] if you needed it?”

SLIDE 12

Employed Respondents

0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18% 20%

2015

“Does your employer have a wellness program with incentives or penalties based on your weight or BMI?”

2016

Percentage of Respondents Answering “Yes”

10% 11%

SLIDE 13

Comparison of Adults with Wellness Incentives or Penalties Based on BMI

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Bariatric Surg Medical Wt Mgmt Obesity Meds Dietitian BP Meds Doctor Hospital BMI Targeted Wellness General Population

2016 Data: Percentage of Respondents Answering “Yes”

“Do you have health insurance that would pay the cost of [ ] if you needed it?”

SLIDE 14

Conclusions

Consumers most often report not having health insurance that

will cover obesity care

Even when employers target BMI in wellness programs

– Health insurance often excludes obesity care – Those consumers report more coverage for all medical services, including obesity care

No evidence of increasing coverage for medical services,

including obesity care

Nor increasing exposure to wellness programs