At a time when business growth, talent retention and productivity are top concerns for many executives, improving health equity makes for a strong business case, a new Deloitte analysis finds.
Improving health equity could add $2.8 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product by 2040, Deloitte found, and, for U.S.-based businesses, corporate profits could increase by $763 billion. Businesses could also see improved workforce participation (people who would no longer be leaving due to premature death and disability) and productivity (rates of absenteeism and presenteeism).
“Health equity is not just a moral imperative. It is an economic imperative.”
Jay Bhatt, M.D., managing director of Deloitte's Center for Health Solutions and Health Equity Institute
The report’s target audience includes executives across a range of industries, from payers to employers to community-based organizations. To conduct its analysis, Deloitte used publicly available data, Komodo Health’s proprietary database and the Oxford Economics Global Economic Model. The consulting firm also asked 19 leaders in health equity, health economics, policy, academia, healthcare, life sciences and business to review the analysis.
“When organizations lean in strategically with investments in their people, and in the community, they can actually create economic value by addressing health equity,” Jay Bhatt, M.D., managing director of Deloitte's Center for Health Solutions and Health Equity Institute, told Fierce Healthcare. The cost of not addressing health equity is typically framed as a deficit, he added, but Deloitte wanted to frame this as an opportunity for value. “Health equity is not just a moral imperative. It is an economic imperative.”
The consulting firm estimates that reducing health gaps could prevent 5 million people from leaving the workforce due to premature death and severe disability. Direct medical costs associated with health inequities amount to $320 billion for the healthcare system and could exceed $1 trillion by 2040 if unaddressed, a previous Deloitte estimate found. Also in past research, in collaboration with Meharry Medical College, Deloitte estimated that health inequities cost businesses $7 billion due to missed work, $45 billion due to reduced productivity and $63 billion due to unemployment.
Public and private organizations both have a role to play, the report said, and addressing health gaps requires upfront investments. “It’s a team sport. We say that it’s everybody’s business,” Bhatt said. This can be achieved by shifting from treatment to prevention, allowing businesses to expand their role and engagement with communities. Crucial to starting the work is assessing existing health gaps in a given workforce. Employers should examine their benefits programs, the report recommended, and determine opportunities for more equitable design. For instance, past Deloitte research has found potential gender-based inequities in organizations’ average benefit design that disadvantages women.
Bhatt, a primary care physician in Chicago, offered an example of how one of his patients could not work due to high blood pressure, obesity and mental health issues. His multidisciplinary care team worked with his employer to examine and implement policy changes that helped the patient get healthier and return to work. These changes also benefited other workers, Bhatt said.
Businesses should also take an equity-centered design approach, developing products that address the diverse needs of populations. This means leveraging a broad range of data sets while addressing biases in the underlying data—like those found in AI systems used for housing applications. Businesses should then engage with local communities, other industries and federal or state-level resources to improve overall community well-being. Among the elements important to this work is promoting community ownership, measuring progress through KPIs and adopting equitable governance models.
“Health equity isn’t a side gig, it’s part of everyday business strategy and operations,” Bhatt said. “Good business and good health go hand in hand, and this data in this report reinforces that.”