3433-vol. 6 issue 2-3.pmd - iarfc

42
Journal of Personal Finance
increased telephone bills to call doctors, hospitals, and family members about
health concerns. Other secondary costs are different-sized clothes due to
weight gain or loss, the costs of wigs to cover hair loss from chemotherapy,
lost wages or promotions for a patient and/or their spouse while receiving
medical treatment, tutoring for a hospitalized child, and the cost of support or
assistance (e.g., gifts for “helpers” and fees for home health aides). To “find”
money to pay these secondary costs, which are generally not covered by
insurance, clients will need to reduce expenses elsewhere and/or tap household
emergency savings. Financial assistance or in-kind services (e.g.,
transportation to treatments) may also be available through a local American
Cancer Society Office, churches, or community organizations.
Health and Wealth Relationships
Vitt, Siegenthaler, Siegenthaler, Lyter, and Kent (2002) note that
health literacy and financial literacy initiatives often proceed on “parallel
tracks” with separate literature and agendas and they urge a greater integration
of effort by practitioners. It is, therefore, imperative that financial
planners better understand health and wealth relationships that affect the
financial planning process (O’Neill, 2005). Below are some examples in
addition to those mentioned previously. First, as noted above, employers are
increasingly using a variety of strategies to avoid future health care bills and
lost productivity associated with poor, but modifiable, employee health
behaviors. Rather than assuming that good health is a matter of “fate,” there
is a greater appreciation of the correlation between employees’ lifestyle and
health, as well as the toll that physical inactivity, obesity, and smoking are
taking on their bottom line. The lifetime medical costs of five diseases and
conditions (hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and high cholesterol)
among moderately obese people are $10,000 higher than among people
at a healthy weight (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2003).
Mainstream financial publications are increasingly integrating health
and financial topics. This is not surprising as many of the same principles for
success apply (O’Neill & Ensle, 2006) and both aspects of life can be damaged
by poor habits and neglect. In a recent article in Money magazine, Updegrave
(2006, p. 53) wrote “To get in shape for retirement after you leave your job,
you need to work on your body as well as your bottom line.” Good health
increases the odds of achieving financial security and happiness in retirement.
Physical capital is a person’s ability to earn a living and make
investments. Some people imperil their physical capital by refusing to
incorporate healthier changes into their daily lives, often experiencing the
wealth-draining effects of disability, sickness, absenteeism, and death. It also
makes no economic sense to pursue wealth at the expense of health (e.g., long
work days with poor diet and exercise habits) to make money that will
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