Employee Health and Wellness Programs are proven to improve
productivity and reduce healthcare costs. For a business, that makes a
difference in the bottom-line. Today, more than 81 percent of America’s
businesses with 50 or more employees have some form of Employee Health
and Wellness Program with the most popular being exercise, tobaccos
cessation classes, back care programs, and stress management. Most
businesses offer Employee Health and Wellness Programs simply because
they think the benefit is worth the cost. Yet business leaders continue
to ask themselves how to control huge annual increases in health
insurance premiums and healthcare costs.
For many businesses, medical costs can consume half of corporate
profits or more. Some employer’s look to cost sharing, cost shifting,
managed care plans, risk rating, and cash-based rebates or rewards. But
these methods merely shift costs. Only Employee Health and Wellness
Programs stand out as the long-term answer for keeping employees well
in the first place.
Employee Health and Wellness Programs are an example of healthcare
reform that works. Results from America’s finest businesses, summarized
here, are reason enough to consider offering Employee Health and
Wellness Programs. This investment in your most important asset – your
employees – can have a positive impact on your bottom-line.
Employee Health and Wellness Program Statistics:
Providence Everett Medical Center, a member of the WELCOA, in Everett,
Washington, saved an estimated 3 million or a cost-benefit ratio of 1
to 3.8 over 9 years of an outcomes-based Employee Health and Wellness
Program. By offering financial rewards ($250 – $325) to employees who
meet specific organizational and employee health initiatives the
Employee Health and Wellness Program continues to meet cost containment
expectations in the area of healthcare use, sick time, injuries, while
improving health habits and self-care practices.
During the first 4 years of the Employee Health and Wellness Program
there was a 28 percent average reduction in healthcare utilization
compared to nine other Providence hospitals that were used as a control
group.
Du Pont saw that each dollar invested in their Employee Health and
Wellness Program yielded $1.42 over two years in reduced absenteeism
costs at Du Pont Co. (Well worksite Gold in Delaware). Absences from
illness unrelated to the job among 45,000 blue-collar staff members
dropped 14 percent at 41 industrial sites where the Employee Health and
Wellness Program was provided, compared with a 5.8 percent decline at
19 sites where it was not.
The Travelers Corporation claims a $3.40 return for every dollar
invested Employee Health and Wellness Programs, yielding total
corporate savings of $146 million in benefits costs. Sick leave was
decreased 19 percent during the four-year study. In addition to
improving the overall health of 36,000 employees and retirees by
decreasing poor health habits and increasing good ones, The Travelers
realized cost savings by decreasing the number of unnecessary visits to
a doctor and emergency rooms. In a similar but smaller study, members
of a Travelers fitness center Employee Health and Wellness Program were
absent from work significantly fewer days than non-members.
The Employee Health and Wellness Program at Reynolds Electrical &
Engineering Company, based in Las Vegas, cost $76.24 per employee
during the two years it has been in operation. Over half of the 1,600
employees took part in the Employee Health and Wellness Program.
Participants significantly lowered cholesterol levels, blood pressure,
and weight and experienced 21 percent lower lifestyle-related claim
costs than non-participant. Resulting savings: $127.89 per participant
in the Employee Health and Wellness Program with a benefit to cost
ratio of 1.68 to 1.
Superior Coffee and Foods, a Bensenville, Illinois-based subsidiary of
Sara Lee Corporation, attributes impressive results to the success of
the company’s complete Employee Health and Wellness Program. Superior
showed 22 percent fewer admissions to a hospital, 29 percent shorter
hospital stays, and 42 percent lower expenses per admission when
comparing costs for this division’s 1,200 employees with costs for
other divisions. Long-term disability costs were down by 40 percent.
With medical costs per employee at $6,000, nearly twice the national
average, Union Pacific Railroad introduced their Employee Health and
Wellness Program to its 28,000 employees, mostly union and blue collar,
in 19 Western and Southern states. Beginning with a modest medical
self-care initiative at an annual cost of $50 per person, the Employee
Health and Wellness Program achieved a net savings of $1.26 million. In
addition, a voluntary Employee Health and Wellness Program to help
employees lower health risks projected a cost-benefit ratio of 1 to
1.57 after one year. Staff Members in a treatment group lowered their
risk of high blood pressure (45 percent) and high cholesterol (34
percent); others moved out of the at-risk range for weight problems (30
percent); and 21 percent stopped using tobacco.
Average medical costs of high-risk Steelcase employees- those whose
lifestyles include two to four health risks such as tobacco use, little
exercise, overweight- are 75 percent higher than those of low-risk
employees. But high-risk employees at this Grand Rapids,
Michigan-furniture manufacturing company who improved their health
habits through the company’s Employee Health and Wellness Program and
became low risk cut their average medical claims in half thus lowering
their medical insurance costs by an average of $618 per year. If all
high-risk employees (20 percent of the total employee population) in
one location changed their lifestyles to become low risk, the projected
savings could total $20 million over three years.
Staff Members at Berk-Tec, a small manufacturing company in Lancaster
County Pennsylvania, learned self-care techniques and lowered their
company’s healthcare costs in one year. By using a self-care guide, the
938 employees and their family members made smart medical decisions and
saved $21.67 per employee and dependent a nearly 18 percent reduction
in costs. By combining reductions in doctor visits and emergency room
use, the company saved $39.06 per employee a 24.3 percent decrease in
costs over the previous year.
A medical claims-based study of 72,000 people insured through 285
Wisconsin school districts found a reduced demand for medical services
among those with access to Employee Health and Wellness Programs and
self-care programs. Reductions in medical services results in savings
for the Wisconsin Education Insurance Group of as much as $4.75 for
each $1 spent, higher savings were found in the group receiving access
to a 24-hour phone-based nurse advice line, a self-care reference book,
and health education materials.
CIGNA’s Healthy Babies prenatal Employee Health and Wellness Program
delivered an average savings of $5,000 per birth by providing expectant
mothers with educational materials and rewarding early and regular
prenatal care. And 80 percent of participants had normal births without
complications compared with 50 percent for non-participant.
With savings estimated to be as high as $8 million, the California
Public Staff Members’ Retirement System sent its 55,000 retirees a
health rist assessment followed, in some cases, with individualized
reports and letters and self-care materials to encourage change and
help reduce health risks among retirees and at the same time reduce the
healthcare claim costs. In another study, Bank of America retirees in
California who chose the full Employee Health and Wellness Program and
demand reduction program showed a decrease in total direct and indirect
costs of 11 percent compared with an increase of 6.3 percent for those
who completed only a simple health questionnaire.
With reduced healthcare claims, medical costs decreased 16 percent for
staff members in the City of Mesa (Arizona) who took part in the
complete Employee Health and Wellness Program. The city realized a
return of $3.60 for every dollar invested in the wellnss program for
the city staff members.
To prevent back injuries among its staff members, a county in
California targeted white- and blue-collar staff members, provided
classes and fitness training. As a result, there was a significant rise
in employee morale, decreased worker’s comp claims, medical costs and
sick days related to back injuries producing a net cost-benefit ratio
of 1 to 1.79.
Employee Health and Wellness Programs: Benefits
Employee Health and Wellness Programs provide Long-Term Benefits
Employee Health and Wellness Programs, according to an article in
Crain’s Detroit Business, come in two varieties: Employee Health and
Wellness Programs or Medical Insurance products that aim to lower costs
if healthy habits are followed. Both options are good, but only one
will really provide long-term health benefits for your staff members
and lower costs over the years.
Employee Health and Wellness Programs provide Help
Insurance-based products provide staff members the opportunity,
according to the article by Jay Green, to save money on their premiums
if they follow certain steps, including performing an online health
assessment, visiting their medical provider, and agree to adopt a
healthy lifestyle. These plans usually involve one coach call to the
employee during the first 90 days. We wonder if these brief wellness
encounters will actually change a individual’s lifestyle.
It is the overall change in a individual’s lifestyle, as well as
disease prevention that will lead to lower health costs in the future.
Employee Health and Wellness Programs provide convenient health risk
assessments and health testing for things like diabetes, cholesterol
and blood pressure. As the article states, these have initial start-up
costs, but the savings accrue over time and staff members are more
likely to stay active in an workplace employee Health Promotion
Program.
Employee Health and Wellness Programs Get Results
Finally, the article states that companies with an effective Employee
Health and Wellness Program can expect to see “500 percent lower
absenteeism, 400 percent fewer disability claims, and 350 percent lower
healthcare costs.” These are numbers that are very hard to argue with.
Employee Health Screening