Deloitte Analysis: Employers can be Catalyst to Enable Americans to Live Longer, Healthier Lives

Deloitte actuaries identify how all Americans could potentially live up to 95% of their years in good health and live to be nearly 90 years old 

NEW YORK, June 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

Key takeaways

• Deloitte's analysis found all Americans could potentially live up to 95% of their years in good health and live to be nearly 90 years old.
• Even though the average life span is 76.1 years, Americans are living just 65.9 years (or 85% of their lives) in good health.
• Life span in the United States could increase by an average of 12 years and health span (the time spent living in good health) could increase by an average of 19.4 years by 2040, according to Deloitte's analysis.
• Black people and American Indian or Alaska Natives stand to gain 25 years and 28 years of health span respectively.

Why this matters
The United States lags its peers in life span and health span, while spending more on health care than any European country, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Data shows that the high cost of American health care is not yielding healthier aging. In Deloitte's latest report, "How employers can spark a movement to live longer, healthier lives," the actuarial analysis showed that even though the average life span is 76.1 years, Americans are living just 65.9 years (or 85% of their years) in good health.

To determine whether Americans can live longer and healthier lives, and how to achieve this, Deloitte actuaries modeled life spans and health spans in the United States based upon publicly available data. The analysis indicates substantial gains in life span and health span are possible by 2040, specifically a 19.4-year improvement in health span and an average of 12 years gained in life span. The proportion of years spent in good health is projected to increase from 85% to 95%. The modeling also suggests that everyone in the United States can live to be nearly 90 years old and in good health for most of those years. To help realize these potential gains, Deloitte identifies a competitive advantage and business case for employers to lead and influence the future of health for their employees. To have the greatest potential impact on Americans' health, employers should think beyond their traditional role of offering employee health insurance and build solutions that aim to improve employees' physical, mental, social and emotional health both within and beyond the workplace.

Key quote
"The impact of the actuarial analysis goes far beyond the numbers that my team found. We identified what it will take and how we can realize these gains because the science and knowledge already exist today. For each of us to live to our fullest and healthiest, it will require engaging with the average health care consumer differently and activating employers who can create momentum that will drive the ability to capture these healthy years."

—Andy Davis, principal, health care practice, Deloitte Consulting LLP

Employers: health should be job no. 1
Recognizing the impact a healthy and productive workforce can have on their organizations' success, employers are uniquely positioned to take the lead on influencing health improvements more broadly by:

• Ensuring their workforce has improved access, benefits and support for physical and mental health care services through digital tools and expanded networks.
• Leading efforts to improve health literacy and education for their employees.
• Supporting financial literacy, wealth management and other financial resource tools.
• Investing in prevention, screenings and care at home as fundamental and integrated parts of a broader definition of health.
• Creating more awareness of health and well-being by providing employees with preventive and wellness programs such as improving access to healthy foods, providing nutrition counseling, promoting physical activity, and increasing mental health resources.
• Recognizing the role that their own products and investments play in the drivers of health and health equity, and thoughtfully addressing any flaws.

Closing health span gaps to address health inequities
Both life span and health span today are on the decline for all groups, but certain groups declined more rapidly in the past few years and a significant gap exists across races and ethnicities. For example, Black Americans have an average life span of 72.7 years with a health span below 60 years; American Indian or Alaskan Natives have an average life span of 68.3 years and a health span below 54 years. On the other hand, white Americans live an average of 78.5 years and have a health span of 66 years; Asian Americans have an average life span of 84.6 years and have a health span of 77.5 years; and Hispanics have an average life span of 78.9 years and a health span under 69 years. Applying Deloitte's Future of Health model to address health inequities, Deloitte estimated the impact of closing the gap on life span and health span. The analysis shows Black people and American Indian or Alaska Natives stand to gain 25 years and 28 years of health span respectively.

Key quote
"Every population can gain something by moving to the 'Future of Health.' The existing gap in life span across race and ethnicity can be significantly closed with certain actions by employers and being intentional in how to close the inequities can create so much gain for every American."

—Neal Batra, principal, life sciences and health care, Deloitte Consulting LLP

The methodology behind the analysis
Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Mortality data, the World Health Organization (WHO) Morbidity data, and the WHO definition of healthy life expectancy (HALE), Deloitte modeled HALE by sex race/ethnicity, age and geography as a proxy for socioeconomic status to understand impacts of inequities. Deloitte set to examine how adoption of the Deloitte Future of Health vision, investments in drivers of health, and enablement of a culture of health impacts life span and quality of life by using a model incorporating public data to project the impact of such interventions. 

About Deloitte
Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500® and more than 7,000 private companies. Our people come together for the greater good and work across the industry sectors that drive and shape today's marketplace — delivering measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to see challenges as opportunities to transform and thrive, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthier society. Deloitte is proud to be part of the largest global professional services network serving our clients in the markets that are most important to them. Building on more than 175 years of service, our network of member firms spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte's approximately 415,000 people worldwide connect for impact at www.deloitte.com.

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SOURCE Deloitte Consulting LLP