California wildfires will have a large impact on health and health care costs

January 20, 2025

The news from Los Angeles has been awful, and all of our thoughts are with our colleagues and others who are threatened by the raging wildfires in the Los Angeles area. I hope the fires will be contained soon, allowing residents of Los Angeles to return to and in many instances rebuild their homes and lives. Even after the fires are extinguished, there will be enormous adverse health effects over the coming months and years.

• A study showed that the 2019-20 Australia wildfires, which led directly to the deaths of 34 people, were tied to 429 deaths and thousands of incremental hospitalizations and emergency department evaluations for respiratory and cardiovascular disease. The total economic cost was $1.2B.

• A study published this month in Science Advances showed that over 50,000 people in California died prematurely from 2008-2018 due to chronic exposure to dangerous particulate matter (p2.5) in wildfire smoke. The economic impact was $432B. (Thanks to StatNews for this reference.)

• Multiple studies have found that on days with poor air quality, hospital emergency department visits and admissions increased.

• Wildfires also have an adverse impact on mental health. A study in JAMA Network Open showed a statistically significant increase in psychiatric drug prescription after the 2023 California wildfires. Researchers also found that increasing exposure to p2.5 associated with wildfires was associated with a 6% increase in emergency department visits for anxiety.

Implications for employers:

• Employers can expect a spike in medical and mental health services for members in affected areas. Supervisors and managers can refer colleagues to the employee assistance program.

• Employers can offer flexibility about remote work for those displaced, and some employers offer emergency funds for impacted employees. Some allow colleagues to “donate” PTO for affected employees.

• Many employers match employee donations to charities working to help victims of a disaster like this. These charities include Direct Relief and the California Community Foundation.

• Resources for affected employees include the Federal Emergency Management Authority (FEMA), and here is a list of resources from Care.com.

Thanks for reading. You can find previous posts in the Employer Coverage archive

Please subscribe, “like” and suggest this newsletter to friends and colleagues. Thanks!

Illustration by Dall-E

Coming Tuesday: Respiratory and GI virus infections on the rise amid winter surge

Please also check out my piece published in Human Resources Executive last week about of the new administration on employer sponsored health insurance.