Employee Wellness Newsletter : Company Health Promotion Programs Now as Important as Cost and Workforce Issues

25 percent Jump in Employer Interest in Employee Health and Wellness

Job Site wellness for their workers, companies are discovering, is great for the health of their companies as well. Worksite Health Promotion Programs help to cut the costs associated with poor employee health, which include absenteeism, loss of work rate and poor work quality.

A recent Hewitt Associates survey of over 500 United States employers indicated a significant paradigm shift in how employers view health benefits for their staff members. Of those surveyed this year, 88% are committed to instituting long-term medical care assistance programs (over the next 3-5 years) for their staff members, with the goal of boosting the health and productiveness of their workforce. This represents a 25% increase in interest in Corporate Wellness Programs over 2007.

A strong offering of Company Wellness Programs to meet the demand has resulted. Health assistance providers have broadened their programs with tools that address general lifestyle factors, physical, social and psychological health factors. Programs look to predict chronic conditions in their staff members and give them the tools and the information to prevent it. Organizations also demand a way to measure the performance of their medical care spending.

“Self-care is our motive,” says Vic Lebouthillier, president of progressive wellness and health provider Exan Wellness.”We really believe giving employees tools to help them manage their own health, and promoting the benefits, while giving people resources to reach out for help is the key to efficacious lifestyle change. Corporations are also telling us they need a cost-effective way to deliver Employee Wellness Programs. The type of program we have developed over years delivers the highest healthcare return on investment.”

Combining worksite wellness promotions, internet based assessments and health trackers, internet based health information, telephone conferences and self-help groups, and access to a wide variety of health professionals, is behind the success of the Exan program. “Having internet based statistics about workers’ health also makes it easier to track the bottom line – ROI” says Vic Lebouthillier.

“Companies are moving beyond their traditional role as a provider of medical care benefits to develop holistic programs that pinpoint the specific health needs of their employee populations, drive employee behavior change and eliminate barriers to healthcare,” says Jim Winkler, leader of Hewitt’s health management consulting practice.

Nevertheless, in a separate survey of 30,000 employees, 74% said that, even though they felt their company had an obligation to help them know how to use their health benefits program, only 12% felt the company had any right to tell them how to be healthy. Based on these results, organizations need to drive home the fact that improved health is better for their employees as well as the company. It’s a win-win situation.

Employers and employees did learn common ground when it came to future health care. Both surveys indicate that 95% of employees understand that their taking care of their health today will influence future health care payments. A similar percentage also understand the important of early detection and prevention when it comes to saving on health care expenditures.

Cost is important for most companies as well. Over 80% of those surveyed made cost mitigation a priority for 2008, but those cuts did not involve shifting responsibility for health care onto employees. Although 64% of companies have shifted costs to their employees, only 17% aim  to do so in the next 3-5 years. Similarly with health reimbursement accounts, 20% now offer these, but only about 5% aim  to use them in 2008.

These survey results indicate organizations are getting more proactive in assisting their staff members to modify behaviors and take ownership of their own health futures. This is obviously great for the wellness of staff members, but also for the wellness of the organizations they work for. Almost half the organizations surveyed were convinced that changing health behaviors was key to increased productiveness and lower absentee rates. Over 60 percent plan  to institute programs that help staff members shift and/or sustain a healthier lifestyle. Almost of these organizations will also use data and measurements to make sure their health care strategies meet their health care objectives?