Employers Take on Social Factors Weighing on Employees’ Health

Employers increasingly are getting involved in the movement to help identify and address social factors that can have an adverse impact on the health of their workers.

Kentucky state and local governments, GE Appliances, Humana Inc., and Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield are among the employers participating in a program with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other organizations to identify problems their employees may encounter that affect their health but aren’t normally covered by health insurance.

These social determinants of health can include inadequate housing and a lack of access to healthy food and transportation. Financial ...