Providing access to a GP and musculoskeletal and mental health benefits could wipe out 80% of the UK’s productivity crisis and save the exchequer billions of pounds a year.
This is according to Paul Schreier, CEO at Simplyhealth (pictured furthest right), during a panel debate at the Association of British Insurers (ABI) 2025 conference last week.
Schreier also called for tax reform to further alleviate the problem – a message which he said does seem to hitting home with policy makers.
GDP problem
“If you look back to 2007 and you look at the GDP per capita of this country, it was then about $50k US in current money,” Schreier explained.
“In the US, it was $48k per head, the UK was richer per capita.
“You dial the clock forward, we’re now at about $48k, so we’ve gone back a bit and the US is $82k,” he added.
“So that gap explains most of why people are grumpy, why the NHS is running out of money and all the rest.
“That gap tells the story of the biggest problem there is.
“I think the government is on to this. They’re focused on the need to make this bigger. You’ve got to improve productivity.”
Key role
In terms of tackling the problem, Schreier added the insurance sector has a key role to play.
“There’s lots of ways of doing that, but in the health arena, having the best part of 6 million of working age on out of work benefits – and of whom about half because they’re unwell – in the long run is a serious issue.
“They need to get brought back to work.
“Insurance can help a lot here. And there will many providers in the room that offer insurance in the workplace – particularly the things that matter most in the workplace to keep people in work.
“It’s good for employers including us. It’s good for the economy.”
MSK, mental health and access to a GP
And Schreier maintained there were straightforward things employers can do to keep people in work.
“It’s musculoskeletal stuff, mental health stuff or access to a GP,” Schreier continued.
“Those are the three biggest things. You fix those. You wipe out 80% of the problem right there.
“So that’s one way of getting at it.
“There are other ways too across all the benefits that other providers offer to in that space – not just to give people greater resilience, but to keep them in the workplace or to bring them back into the workplace if they have been out of the workplace.
“And if you halve the number of people from three to 1.5 million, you’d save from an economic perspective about £100bn a year – just by doing that.
“So there’s a real opportunity here and I think most employers recognise this – our work shows most employers recognise the need for this.”
Tax reform
But Schreier also suggested government has role to play in terms of tax reform.
“There does need to be some sort of tax reform here,” Schreier said.
“If you as employers offer a benefit of this kind and the benefit costs say £100, up to £72 goes to the Treasury if you provide that benefit.
“That seems like an egregious amount of additional tax by the time you factor in Insurance Premium Tax and Benefit in Kind Tax – which I think the Treasury recognises because we’re hearing noises that they are thinking about that in a couple of target areas as a potential reform.”
