Wellness Programs Now as Important as Cost and Workforce Issues.

25% Jump in Corporation Interest in Worker Wellness

Corporate wellness for their workers, corporations are discovering, is good for the health of their businesses as well. Wellness 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 companies indicated a meaningful paradigm shift in how companies view health benefits for their employees.

Of those surveyed this year, 88% are committed to instituting long-term healthcare assistance programs (over the next 3-5 years) for their workers, with the goal of boosting 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 condition in their employees 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 employees 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 program we have created over years delivers the highest health care 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 professionals, 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 healthcare benefits to create holistic programs that pinpoint the specific health needs of their worker populations, drive worker behavior change and eliminate barriers to healthcare, says Jim Winkler, leader of Hewitt’s health management consulting practice.

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

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

Corporations and staff members did find common ground when it came to future health care. Both surveys indicate that 95 percent of staff members 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 healthcare costs.

Cost is important for most businesses 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 staff members.

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

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

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

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