Wellness Programs Now as Important as Cost and Workforce Issues.

25 percent Jump in Corporation Interest in Employee Wellness

Corporate wellness for their staff members, employers are discovering, is good for the health of their corporations as well. Wellness programs help to cut the costs associated with poor employee health, which include absenteeism, loss of productivity and poor work quality.

A recent Hewitt Associates survey of over 500 USA companies indicated a meaningful paradigm shift in how companies view health benefits for their staff members.

Of those surveyed this year, 88% 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% increase in interest in wellness programs over 2007.

A strong offering of 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 disease in their workers and give them the tools and the information to prevent it. Companies 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 workers 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 successful lifestyle change.

Corporations are also telling us they need a cost-effective way to deliver wellness programs. the type of program we have created over years delivers the highest healthcare return on investment.”

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

Corporations are moving beyond their traditional role as a provider of health care benefits to create holistic programs that pinpoint the specific health needs of their employee populations, drive employee behavior change 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 employees, 74% said that, although they felt their corporation had an obligation to help them understand how to use their health benefits program, only 12% felt the corporation had any right to tell them how to be healthful.

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

Businesss and employees did find common ground when it came to future health care. Both surveys indicate that 95 percent of employees understand that their taking care of their health today will impact future health care 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 businesses as well. Over 80% of those surveyed made cost mitigation a priority for 2008, but those cuts didn’t involve shifting responsibility for healthcare onto workers.

Although 64% of corporations have shifted costs to their workers, 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 leads todicate businesses are getting more proactive in assisting their employees to change behaviors and take ownership of their own health futures. This is obviously good for the wellness of employees, but also for the wellness of the businesses 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 programs that help employees change and/or sustain a healthier lifestyle.

Nearly of these businesses will also use data and measurements to ensure their health care strategies meet their health care objectives?