Study: Employers save money after lowering costs for employees' preventive care

Chicago employers lowered costs for their workers with diabetes by more than $1,400 per employee over a year's time thanks to an experimental program that helped pay for their drugs and provided consultations at the pharmacy counter. The pilot program, launched in 2007, saved four Chicago-area employers $1,467 per worker, or more than $126,000, said the Midwest Business Group on Health. Direct and indirect costs of diabetes to the U.S. healthcare system are more than $130 billion a year and include emergency room visits, extended hospital stays, and absenteeism, the group said.