GI benefits improve engagement while lowering healthcare costs

• What's at Stake: Rising GI-related costs could affect workforce productivity, benefits budgets, and retention.
• Supporting Data: Study: participants had $2,026 lower annual healthcare spending (≈18%).
• Forward Look: Expect expanded, personalized digital GI benefits to reshape employer health strategy.
• Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review

As employers continue their search for benefit solutions to help more employees, while curbing costs, investments in GI care are yielding significant results. 

Approximately 71% of Americans experience gastrointestinal (GI) issues — such as IBS and Crohn's Disease — at least a few times a month, according to a report from digital GI health solution Cylinder. These conditions cost employers $136 billion annually in costs associated with healthcare expenditures and other workplace factors. However, the addition of digital GI care solutions is proving to be an effective way to tackle both employee health and healthcare spending. 

"Over the last few years people have begun to realize that GI issues are very common and highly prevalent in the population," says Dr. Hau Liu, chief medical officer at Cylinder. "Now we're seeing this groundswell of interest from employers to do something about it and it's making a change."  

Read more: The hidden cost of GI issues for employers — beyond medical claims

According to a recent peer-reviewed study on the effectiveness of digital GI benefit solutions,  conducted by the the American Journal of Managed Care, in the year following the implementation of such solutions, annual healthcare expenditures for participants were $2,026 lower — or 18% — compared with nonparticipants. Those savings include a decrease in pharmacy spending, a factor that could be particularly attractive to employers as drug prices continue to rise rapidly. 

Beyond direct savings on medical costs, Liu encourages leaders to also consider the meaningful, though potentially less tangible, savings from reduced absenteeism and lower employee turnover. 

"If we provide access early and we intervene clinically and appropriately and help them control their symptoms, they will inherently feel more productive," Liu says. "Healthy employees take less sick days and show up to work because they're not spending their time in hospitals." 

Building a gut-health benefit approach

Employers need to fully understand the scope of gastrointestinal health issues within their workforce, Liu says, which often starts with digging into their data. At Cylinder, the team frequently partners with employers to review claims and uncover trends, recognizing that GI-related costs and spending can be difficult to isolate due to overlap with areas like mental health and women's health. Because these issues aren't always clearly defined in claims data, Cylinder helps by providing detailed resources, including a list of more than 1,000 diagnostic codes, to more accurately identify specific conditions and areas of need. While partnering with a third party could be helpful, leaders can do much of the work themselves. 

Read more: 40% of Americans are delaying healthcare visits despite having insurance

"Poll and get feedback from your employee population to see how big the issue actually is," Liu says. "I can't express how encouraging it is to me as a physician [and business leader] to see and hear about the life changing impact benefits are having first hand."

As more positive results revolving GI care and solutions come out, Liu expects to see more organizations revisit their benefit strategies to make their coverage more comprehensive and inclusive. 

"There's so much happening in this space," Liu says. "Technology is going to be able to increasingly personalize and create engaging types of tools to help employees understand their conditions, educate themselves and feel supported as they make the best care decisions for their gut health."