Obesity rates driving up healthcare costs, report finds

Photo: Kseniya Ovchinnikova/Getty Images

Obesity rates continue to climb across the country, and a new study from UnitedHealthcare and the Health Action Council finds that this is a major driver of rising healthcare costs in the U.S., as well as a potential cost driver for employers.

By way of example, authors cited a 2024 congressional report showing that obesity will cost up to $9.1 trillion in excess medical expenditures over the next 10 years. Higher costs will also affect individuals; the cost share for members living with obesity was over $662 (66%) more per year than peers living without it.

Addressing the obesity epidemic could result in potentially significant cost savings, the report found. The HAC, for example, represents about 230 self-funded employers, and if 10% of HAC members didn’t develop obesity, up to $30 million in potential annual savings could be achieved.

Looked at another way, if an employer group with 5,000 enrollees achieved a 25% reduction in obesity, they could potentially save $8.6 million annually, according to the report.

WHAT’S THE IMPACT

Obesity rates have been steadily rising across the country for decades, numbers show. The rate of obesity doubled among U.S. adults between 1990 and 2021, to about 40%, and 75% of U.S. adults are now overweight or living with obesity – up from 50% in 1990, according to the report.

Across all 50 states, at least 1 in 5 (20%) adults are living with obesity, while in 23 states, more than 1 in 3 (35%) people live with obesity.

If obesity rates among HAC members had remained the same as they were in 2010, total spend would have been reduced by $54.3 million, or 5%, in 2023, according to the data. Moreover, total spend over the last 10 years would have been reduced by more than $500 million.

HAC said that savings could be achieved if members don’t develop obesity to begin with; if just 25% of HAC members had not progressed to living with obesity, annual plan savings would amount to $74 million in just the last 12 months, authors said.

Data also showed that obesity is linked to a number of other health challenges, including diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension. And the more comorbidities present, the higher the costs.

People with obesity also see higher emergency room utilization, see physicians far more often, have higher rates of sleep apnea and suffer from reduced rates of productivity.

THE LARGER TREND

UnitedHealth coverage of obesity medications depends on the specific plan and the medication.

Last fall, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a proposed rule for coverage of obesity drugs in Medicare and Medicaid, starting in 2026. An estimated 3.4 million people would be newly able to obtain coverage for obesity drugs under Medicare Part D, CMS estimated, while the cost to the federal government over 10 years would be $25 billion.

But the rule would need to be finalized under the Trump administration, and its fate remains unclear.

Jeff Lagasse is editor of Healthcare Finance News.
Email: jlagasse@himss.org
Healthcare Finance News is a HIMSS Media publication.