A Rationale and Framework for Activating Employers as Agents of Change in the Implementation of Lifestyle as Medicine

Abstract

A shift to value-based payment models will require treating coverage for preventive services equally - such that they are held to the same standard (can they improve health at reasonable cost?).[72] In the meantime, employers can advocate for payers to have a Lifestyle Medicine Program Director (as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont recently added to their staff)[77]; better reimbursement of Lifestyle as Medicine; coverage of preventive services (eg, nutritionist or registered dietitian visits prior to a diagnosis with a chronic illness); and the training of more healthcare professionals in Lifestyle Medicine. Other barriers include: • Limited awareness of the transformative power of Lifestyle as Medicine • Limited awareness of which providers in a region or network are credentialed to implement lifestyle medicine in their practices • Current reimbursement models To be widely adopted and sustained, Lifestyle as Medicine must be integrated with existing health and well-being and occupational health initiatives. Guiding Principles Employ an Equity-Centered Approach That Optimizes Whole Health for All Perhaps no other singular issue is as fundamental to realizing the vision of whole health as the need to advance health equity.[32] Healthy People 2030 defines health equity as "the attainment of the highest level of health for all people." Additional insights around offering evidence-based, whole-person health and well-being initiatives; how employers can demonstrate the business case of, create demand for, and promote advocacy for lifestyle medicine; and how Lifestyle as Medicine initiatives can be integrated with efforts to promote broader community health, diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) strategy, and sustainability initiatives were also curated.