Health services, health status, and work loss

The numbers of workdays lost because of illness, coupled with records of health service utilization patterns, were studied to establish possible links between health status and different forms of prepayment coverage. The records of industrial workers at four branches of the same company were analyzed. Records of employees with broad-benefit coverage were compared with those who had less-comprehensive indemnity coverage. A free choice of providers was available to the study population. Data for workers covered by the broader plans revealed fewer medical admissions to hospitals, more surgical admissions, and more outpatient physician visits. As hypothesized, their number of days absent from work were lower. Because few of these results were statistically significant, caution is necessary in their interpretation. Some aspects of the project warranting further consideration are discussed. Data suggest a positive correlation between breadth of health plan coverage and health status, with possible economic benefits to be derived from such coverage. The data also indicate the desirability of additional investigations to be based on employers' and health plan records, that involve other types of populations and other benefit options.