INSIGHT THE|TIDES

Workplace wellness

Most experts in health care today are united in the view that there needs to be a shift toward prevention. There is very little agreement on how this transformation of health care will be financed and who will be fiscally empowered to provide preventive health care. The|Tides believes that employers who provide health care benefits are the chief stakeholders in a conversion to a pro-active approach toward containing medical costs.

 With the huge burden of medical costs and absenteeism, corporate leaders have a strong incentive to promote employee wellness. According to the Wellness Councils of America[1] 70% of all health care costs generated in the United States are attributable to preventable risks and unhealthy choices. Contributing to this problem are uncontrolled cholesterol and blood pressure levels, poor diet, lack of exercise and excessive stress. Data from a study of nearly 375,000 employees of different corporations shows that programs designed with appropriate incentives deliver on the promise of lowering healthcare spending by promoting healthy habits. The number of people participating in wellness programs showed a 79% increase in cultivating the habit of regular exercise. Regular exercisers show a 29% reduction in net health care spending and have 8-20% reductions in hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease, cancer, metabolic disorders like diabetes and musculoskeletal problems like arthritis. When they are hospitalized, their lengths of stay are 7-10% shorter.

It's estimated that employees who achieve a healthy weight can save their companies as much as $2500 per year in absences, reduced medical costs and loss of productivity. Just moving from a high to low nutritional risk category can save $780 per year. Workers who quit smoking can save up to $3500. Healthcare costs rose 28.7% less for participants compared to those who remained inactive. By motivating healthy behaviors that cut healthcare spending, health enhancement programs can and are contributing to increased profits and productivity.

Ask us about proven Corporate Wellness Programs we can develop and adapt to your workforce. We can help you establish wellness programs with built-in evaluation procedures. Measurable results can prove and quantify a program's cost-effectiveness.

 [1] Research findings compiled by the Wellness Councils of America and the Center for Health Care Economics at the Milken Institute