Workers’ Poor Health Costs $344B Annually, Report Finds

Employees who are absent from work or less productive at work because of health issues cost employers as much as $344 billion annually, according to a report from the Integrated Benefits Institutes. Thomas Parry of IBI said that the costs exceed the roughly $232 billion that employers spend to provide medical coverage to their workers annually.

• "Workers’ Poor Health Costs Employers $344 Billion, Study Finds" (Appleby, "Capsules," Kaiser Health News, 9/14).