Employee Wellness Newsletter : Benefits of Corporate Wellness Programs*

The expenditures of medical have been rising more than 10 percent each year for several years. A substantial amount of the money invested in the medical system treats costly illnesses and diseases.

• Approximately 95 percent of the $1.4 trillion that we spend as a nation on health goes to direct healthcare services, while about 5 percent is allocated to preventing disease and promoting health.
• Potentially, 50 percent to 70 percent of all diseases are preventable as they are associated with modifiable health risks.
• In an effort to optimize employee health, decrease preventable healthcare utilization and enhance work execution, and in turn decreased healthcare expenditures and improve employee satisfaction and retention, many businesses are creating, or are interested in creating, Corporate Health Promotion Programs for employees.

The advantages of workplace wellness are well documented. Greater than 120 research studies repeatedly show themes such as improvements in health outcomes coupled with high returns on investment (ROI). Some primary findings include the following:

• Savings of $3.48 in reduced medical costs per dollar invested.
• Savings of $5.82 in decrease absenteeism expenditures per dollar invested.
• ROIs of at least $3 to $8 per dollar invested within five years of program implementation.
• Lifestyle behavior change programs: $3 to $6 ROI within 2 to 5 years.
• Self care, decision reinforcement programs: $2 to $3 return on investment within a year.
• Disease Management (DM) programs: $7 to $10 ROI within a year.

By offering health improvement programs, companies are not only offering an additional service for workers, but they are also gaining monetarily. Furthermore, the effect of a health improvement program goes beyond diminished medical cost and ROI. A health improvement program can affect work rate, absenteeism, morale, recruitment success, turnover, and medical expenditures.

• Source: Rees, C., and Finch, R. (2004). Health Improvement: A comprehensive guide to designing, launching and evaluating workplace programs. National Business Group on Health, 1 (1), 1-7.