Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are the top benefits cost driver for global employers, as spending on care hit $95 million in 2022, according to research from MAXIS Global Benefits Network.
This figure represents a large increase given that spending on MSK in 2018 was $26 million.
This research was outlined in the network’s recent report titled ‘How do industry, culture and gender affect employee health? Insights from MAXIS claims data’.
By analysing data from “millions of claims made around the world”, the network found that MSK was the top cost driver in 12 of the 13 industries it examined. In the retail and logistics industries, MSK accounted for more than 18 percent of paid claims overall.
The cost per-member, per-year, for MSK care was greater than for heart disease, cancer or diabetes. “This means multinationals are spending more to treat MSK issues than life-threatening conditions,” the report said.
MSK disorders have also surpassed respiratory diseases as the top cost driver across the majority of industries despite respiratory conditions impacting all age groups. This demonstrates how significant MSK is as a health concern, the report said, raising questions about whether this increase in costs is leading to improved patient outcomes.
Further findings revealed that “only a tiny proportion” of paid claims were for mental healthcare (1.6 percent) across the different industries, however, mental health makes up 22.9 percent of claims incidence in the retail sector.
Claims for inflammation were found to be higher among women than men at 57.6 percent compared to 42.4 percent.
The report encouraged multinational employers to use these trends as a starting point to dig deeper into the make-up of their own workforce. It also suggested employers take a more tailored approach to health and wellness benefits and incorporate factors such as industry, culture and gender.
Dr Leena Johns, chief health and wellness officer at MAXIS GBN, said: “Increasingly, I’m tasked with guiding multinationals who want to know how to persuade their board of directors on both the merits of wellness and sustaining their investment in it. And I completely understand this predicament. HR executives championing wellness initiatives find themselves navigating a complex landscape, where every expenditure is put under the microscope, against the backdrop of escalating healthcare costs and broader economic inflation. Multinationals are right to want to see a return on their investment in wellness programmes.
“Our treasure trove of claims data, drawn from standardised, anonymised data from millions of claimants around the world, gives us rich insights into the truly diverse landscape of employees’ health and wellness needs. This report draws on those insights to show employers how to look at their people’s healthcare needs through the lens of industry, culture and gender, and help them understand why a one-size-fits-all approach could be letting them down.”
