Top 3 Things You’ll Learn
- Challenges of managing employee health benefits for trucking logistics companies
- Major health risks impacting professional drivers
- How trucking logistics employers can better manage healthcare benefit costs
When the world around us runs smoothly with abundant supplies, food, fuel, and clean water, we often neglect to appreciate the literal driving force keeping these everyday conveniences at our fingertips. There are 1.2 million trucking companies in the U.S. that employ 8 million total people who are responsible for transporting 10 billion tons of commercial products across the country each year. As such an essential part of our national infrastructure, the health and wellness of trucking logistics employees is incredibly important to keep America running.
However, virtually every trucking logistics company in the U.S. faces numerous challenges – different than those of other employer groups – when it comes to implementing cost-control measures within their benefit programs. Among the top factors contributing to employee health costs include:
- Physical Limitations: Professional drivers are confined to a cab for most of the day and have limited physical activity and irregular/limited sleep.
- Dietary Restrictions: Food options are limited on the road and unhealthy, high-sodium fast food often is the most available choice.
- Prescription Drug Access: Long, tedious routes and schedules limit drivers’ ability to access medication, which has an impact on timeliness of refills and medication adherence
With 8M total U.S. employees – including 3.5M professional drivers – the trucking logistics industry is keeping America running. They deserve a pharmacy benefit program that addresses their unique health risks.
In a recent survey by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), more than half of surveyed drivers had two or more of the following risk factors for long-term preventable disease: obesity, smoking, little physical activity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or less than 6 hours of sleep per night.
Left unmanaged or under-treated, these chronic conditions can lead to more serious medical conditions and catastrophic events, such as heart attack, stroke, and cancer. The medical costs associated with these comorbidities are astronomical in comparison to the price of managing chronic conditions with appropriate drug therapy. Even then, drug therapy itself can become very expensive for self-insured employers if not properly managed with the most competitive pharmacy benefits contract and professional prescription monitoring tailored to the health risks of this specific employee population.
To learn how you can help your clients address these health challenges through optimized pharmacy benefits, read our free ebook: Strategies to Improve Economic & Clinical Value in Pharmacy Benefits for the Trucking Logistics Industry.
SOURCES:
https://www.americanfreightinc.com/trucking-industry-statistics-for-2020
https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2015/03/03/truck-driver-health/
