Colorado’s Pitch For New Business: Healthy, Lean Workers Cost Less

The cost of doing business may be lower in areas where there’s a “culture of health.” And that’s put Colorado, which has the lowest adult obesity rate in the nation, on the map for companies looking to relocate or expand.

Kelly Brough is proud of this. She runs the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, and she’s creative about luring businesses to relocate in Colorado. For instance, she runs a “Colorado loves California” campaign.
Brough says if Colorado can catch a corporate executive’s eye, she’s got the numbers to hook them. And she’s talking about more than just the typical tax breaks and labor costs.
When Brough meets with businesses, she touts Colorado’s low rates of common chronic diseases – diabetes, heart disease, and cancer — among the ones that cost companies a lotof money in health insurance claims.

This is one big reason a Fortune 500 company called DaVita recently moved its corporate headquarters to Denver, says Kent Thiry, DaVita’s CEO.

By Eric Whitney, Colorado Public Radio

For the rest of the story, go to Kaiser Health News.