Employer Interest In Wellness Programs Grows
Recognizing that programs designed to help employees manage their health more effectively can boost productivity and lower health care benefit costs, many employers are looking to expand their companies’ wellness initiatives, according to a survey conducted by United Benefit Advisors.
As part of an annual survey on employee benefits, researchers questioned 1,746 employers across all industry groups about the extent and effectiveness of their current and planned wellness and disease management programs.
Results showed that around one-quarter of employers currently provide wellness and/or health risk assessment programs, and an additional 50% are interested in implementing such programs in the future. The survey also found that most employers agree that an employee’s involvement in managing chronic conditions should influence the employee’s benefits and share of costs.
In addition, 73% of employers believe employees can become better health care consumers if given the necessary tools, such as provider cost and quality information, education on managing costs, and decision support tools.
When asked to compile a “wish list” of initiatives they would like to implement in the future, between one-third and one-half of the employers surveyed said they hope to add formal wellness and disease management programs, cost and quality information on health care providers and prescription drugs, early-warning tools to identify chronic conditions and potentially serious claims, and employee decision support tools.
Commenting on the survey’s findings, UBA co-founder David LoCascio noted that employers of all sizes across all industry groups are implementing the same types of health management programs. “The increasing applicability of web-based solutions and the growing sophistication of benefits advisors has leveled the playing field, allowing employers of all sizes to have access to tools and services that were previously available only to large employers,” LoCascio said.
“Employer involvement in helping to manage the health of its workforce has been rapidly gaining momentum,” LoCascio added. “Employers are increasingly assuming more responsibility and control in an effort to impact both plan costs and employee productivity.”
LoCascio observed that employers of all sizes have found that proactive health management programs and effective employee communication can have a direct and noticeable impact on plan costs. Employees, he said, “have a huge vested interest in helping contain costs in order to both stem the erosion in plan benefits and their share of higher premium costs; and most are willing and able to do so if provided the tools and information required.”
