Health Promotion Programs Now as Important as Cost and Workforce Issues.

25% Jump in Company Interest in Staff Member Wellness

Company health promotion for their workers, businesss are discovering, is good for the health of their corporations as well. Health promotion programs help to cut the costs associated with poor staff member health, which include absenteeism, loss of productivity and poor work quality.

A recent Hewitt Associates survey of over 500 United States corporations indicated a meaningful paradigm shift in how corporations view health benefits for their workforce.

Of those surveyed this year, 88 percent are committed to instituting long-term health care assistance programs (over the next 3-5 years) for their staff members, with the goal of improveing the health and productivity of their workforce. This represents a 25 percent increase in interest in wellness programs over 2007.

A strong offering of health promotion programs to meet the demand has resulted. Health assistance providers have broadened their health promotion programs with tools that address general lifestyle factors, physical, social and psychological health factors.

Programs look to predict chronic illness in their workforce and give them the tools and the information to prevent it. Businesses also demand a way to measure the effectiveness of their healthcare spending.

Self-care is our motive, says Vic Lebouthillier, president of progressive wellness provider Exan Wellness.”We really believe giving staff members tools to help them manage their own health, and promoting the benefits, while giving individuals  resources to reach out for help is the key to successful lifestyle change.

Companies are also telling us they need a cost-effective way to deliver wellness programs.  The type of wellness program we have developed over years delivers the highest health care return on investment.”

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

Businesses are moving beyond their traditional role as a provider of health care benefits to develop holistic wellness programs that pinpoint the specific health needs of their worker populations, drive worker behavior modification and eliminate barriers to health care, says Jim Winkler, leader of Hewitt’s health management consulting practice.

Notwithstanding, in a separate survey of 30,000 workers, 74 percent said that, although they felt their corporation had an obligation to help them understand how to use their health benefits program, only 12 percent felt the corporation had any right to tell them how to be healthy.

Based on these results, corporations need to drive home the fact that improved health is better for their staff as well as the business. It’s a win-win situation.

Employers and personnel did find common ground when it came to future healthcare. Both surveys indicate that 95% of personnel understand that their taking care of their health today will impact future healthcare payments.

A similar percentage also understand the important of early detection and prevention when it comes to saving on health care costs.

Cost is important for most corporations as well. Over 80 percent of those surveyed made cost mitigation a priority for 2008, but those cuts did not involve shifting responsibility for health care onto personnel.

Although 64% of companies have shifted costs to their staff, only 17% plan to do so in the next 3-5 years. Likewise with health reimbursement accounts, 20% now offer these, but only about 5% plan to use them in 2008.

These survey causesdicate organizations are getting more proactive in helping their personnel to change behaviors and take ownership of their own health futures. This is clearly good for the well-being of personnel, but also for the well-being of the organizations they work for.

Almost half the companies surveyed were convinced that changing health behaviors was key to increased productivity and lower absentee rates. Over 60% plan to institute wellness programs that help staff change and/or sustain a healthier lifestyle.

Almost of these companies will also use data and measurements to ensure their healthcare strategies meet their healthcare objectives?