The Metropolitan King County Council today approved the initial findings of the task force examining strategies to contain the rising cost of health care for county employees.

“As the Centers for Disease Control have just told us, obesity will soon pass smoking as the leading cause of preventable death. Complications of obesity and smoking also drive up health care costs,” said Council Chair Larry Phillips. “It seems obvious, but one of the goals of any health care plan should be to keep people healthy. The first step in reducing health care costs is to promote employee wellness and encourage their participation.”

The initial cost-containment findings of the Task Force include an emphasis on disease management and wellness programs, and implementation of a comprehensive education plan on the health care crisis, its potential effect on employees, and opportunities for improved health and higher quality health care through active health care.

“We must work toward a systemic change, one that encourages prevention as well as treatment,” said Phillips. “By reducing obesity, we diminish the possibility of diabetes and lessen the likelihood of heart disease.”

King County, like all other large employers in the region, has seen significant increases in the costs of providing health benefits to county employees. The mission of the Task Force is to “recommend an innovative and achievable set of strategies to improve the quality of health care while moderating costs in the Puget Sound market.” Members appointed in December by the County Executive include physicians, health care economists, labor representatives, and representatives from the city of Seattle and major companies in the region that are self-insured, such as Washington Mutual, Starbucks, Microsoft and Costco. The panel presented their initial report to the executive in February and is scheduled to present their final report with recommendations in June.

“One of the biggest challenges facing the county during our ongoing budget crisis is ensuring that county employees and their families still receive quality health care as we strive to contain costs,” said Phillips. “We are not alone in this — our private sector counterparts are wrestling with the same beast of skyrocketing health-care costs. We’re happy to sit down at the table with them and try to find some common solutions.”