A new report issued by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that access to paid sick days could save $1 billion each year in medical costs. Right now more than 44 million American workers don’t receive paid sick days and even more than that are not allowed to use time off to take care of sick children or family members. “Taking time off work to see a primary care doctor is common sense, but over 40 million Americans cannot do so without losing pay or their job,” said Kevin Miller, Senior Research Associate with IWPR, and an author of the report. “Americans are paying over $1 billion each year in preventable emergency department costs because hard-working people without paid sick days are unable to get the preventative and early treatment they and their children need.”

Around $47 billion are spent on emergency department services each year in the US. If some of that funding was shifted to preventing illnesses in the first place through less expensive doctor’s visits, access to paid sick days would save $1.1 billion each year. About $500 million in these preventable costs are covered by taxpayers with allocated funds going to veterans and low income families. “As high and rising health care expenditures continuing to be a top concern for policymakers and businesses alike, paid sick days is a cost saving solution that should receive serious attention,”  said Claudia Williams, Research Analyst with IWPR and an author of the report.

If an employee has paid sick days they are more likely to go to a doctor during regular business hours. They’re also less likely to put off needed care. Some states are considering legislation that would make sure workers have the ability to earn paid sick time. Some industries are less likely to have paid six days. For instance, two-fifths of private sector employees, including three in four food service workers, three in five personal health care workers and three in four child care workers, do not currently have access to paid sick days.