Corporate Wellness Programs

Corporate Wellness Programs are proven to increase productivity and decrease health care costs. For a business, that makes a difference in the bottom-line. Today, more than 81% of America’s businesses with 50 or more staff members have some form of Corporate Wellness Plan with the most popular being exercise, tobaccos cessation classes, back care programs, and stress management. The majority of employers offer Corporate Wellness Programs simply because they think the benefit is worth the cost. Yet business leaders continue to ask themselves how to control huge annual increases in medical insurance premiums and health care costs.

For many companies, medical costs can consume 50% of organization profits or more. Some employer’s look to cost sharing, cost shifting, managed care plans, risk rating, and cash-based rebates or rewards. But these methods merely shift costs. Only Corporate Wellness Programs stand out as the long-term answer for keeping staff members well in the first place.

Corporate Wellness Programs are an example of health care reform that works. Results from America’s finest companies, summarized here, are reason enough to consider providing Corporate Wellness Programs. This investment in your most important asset – your staff members – can have a positive impact on your bottom-line.

Corporate Wellness Plan Statistics:

Providence Everett Medical Center, a member of the WELCOA, in Everett, Washington, saved an estimated 3 million or a cost-benefit ratio of 1 to 3.8 over 9 years of an outcomes-based Corporate Wellness Program. By providing financial rewards ($250 – $325) to staff members who meet specific organizational and staff member health initiatives the Corporate Wellness Plan continues to meet cost containment expectations in the area of health care use, sick time, injuries, while improving health habits and self-care practices.

During the first 4 years of the Corporate Wellness Plan there was a 28% average reduction in health care utilization compared to nine other Providence hospitals that were used as a control group.

Du Pont saw that every dollar invested in their Corporate Wellness Plan saved $1.42 over two years in decreased rates of absenteeism costs at Du Pont Co. (Well worksite Gold in Delaware). Absences from illness unrelated to the job among 45,000 blue-collar employees dropped 14% at 41 industrial sites where the Corporate Wellness Plan was provided, compared with a 5.8% decline at 19 sites where it was not.

The Travelers Corporation claims a $3.40 return for every dollar invested Corporate Wellness Programs, yielding total organization savings of $146 million in benefits costs. Sick leave was lowered 19% during the four-year research study. In addition to improving the overall health of 36,000 staff members and retirees by lowering poor health habits and increasing good ones, The Travelers realized cost savings by decreasing the number of unnecessary visits to a doctor and emergency rooms. In a similar but smaller research study, members of a Travelers fitness center Corporate Wellness Plan were absent from work significantly fewer days than non-members.

The Corporate Wellness Plan at Reynolds Electrical & Engineering Company, based in Las Vegas, cost $76.24 per staff member during the two years it has been in operation. Over 50% of the 1,600 staff members participated in the Corporate Wellness Program. Participants significantly lowered cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and weight and experienced 21% lower lifestyle-related claim costs than non-participant. Resulting savings: $127.89 per participant in the Corporate Wellness Plan with a benefit to cost ratio of 1.68 to 1.

Superior Coffee and Foods, a Bensenville, Illinois-based subsidiary of Sara Lee Corporation, attributes impressive results to the success of the organization’s comprehensive Corporate Wellness Program. Superior showed 22% fewer admissions to a hospital, 29% shorter hospital stays, and 42% lower expenses per admission when comparing costs for this division’s 1,200 staff members with costs for other divisions. Long-term disability costs were down by 40%.

With medical costs per staff member at $6,000, nearly twice the national average, Union Pacific Railroad introduced their Corporate Wellness Plan to its 28,000 staff members, mostly union and blue collar, in 19 Western and Southern states. Beginning with a modest medical self-care initiative at an annual cost of $50 per person, the Corporate Wellness Plan achieved a net savings of $1.26 million. In addition, a voluntary Corporate Wellness Plan to help staff members lower health risks projected a cost-benefit ratio of 1 to 1.57 after one year. Employees in a treatment group lowered their risk of high blood pressure (45%) and high cholesterol (34%); others moved out of the at-risk range for weight problems (30%); and 21% stopped smoking.

Average medical costs of high-risk Steelcase staff members- those whose lifestyles include two to four health risks such as tobacco use, little exercise, overweight- are 75% higher than those of low-risk staff members. But high-risk staff members at this Grand Rapids, Michigan-furniture manufacturing organization who enhanced their health habits through the company’s Corporate Wellness Plan and became low risk cut their average medical claims in half thus lowering their medical insurance costs by an average of $618 per year. If all high-risk staff members (20% of the total staff member population) in one location changed their lifestyles to become low risk, the projected savings could total $20 million over three years.

Employees at Berk-Tec, a small manufacturing organization in Lancaster County Pennsylvania, learned self-care techniques and lowered their organization’s health care costs in one year. By using a self-care guide, the 938 staff members and their family members made smart medical decisions and saved $21.67 per employee and dependent a nearly 18% reduction in costs. By combining reductions in doctor visits and emergency room use, the business saved $39.06 per employee a 24.3% decrease in costs over the previous year.

A medical claims-based research study of 72,000 people insured through 285 Wisconsin school districts found a decreased demand for medical services among those with access to Corporate Wellness Programs and self-care programs. Reductions in medical services results in savings for the Wisconsin Education Insurance Group of as much as $4.75 for each $1 spent, higher savings were found in the group receiving access to a 24-hour phone-based nurse advice line, a self-care reference book, and health education materials.

CIGNA’s Healthy Babies prenatal Corporate Wellness Plan delivered an average savings of $5,000 per birth by providing expectant mothers with educational materials and rewarding early and regular prenatal care. And 80% of participants had normal births without complications compared with 50% for non-participant.

With savings estimated to be as high as $8 million, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System sent its 55,000 retirees a health risk appraisal followed, in some cases, with individualized reports and letters and self-care materials to encourage change and help reduce health risks among retirees and at the same time reduce the health care claim costs. In another research study, Bank of America retirees in California who chose the full Corporate Wellness Plan and demand reduction program showed a decrease in total direct and indirect costs of 11% compared with an increase of 6.3% for those who completed only a simple health questionnaire.

With decreased health care claims, medical costs decreased 16% for staff members in the City of Mesa (Arizona) who participated in the comprehensive Corporate Wellness Program. The city realized a return of $3.60 for every dollar invested in the wellnss program for the city staff members.

To prevent back injuries among its staff members, a county in California targeted white- and blue-collar employees, provided classes and fitness training. As a result, there was a significant increase in staff member morale, lowered worker’s comp claims, medical costs and sick days related to back injuries producing a net cost-benefit ratio of 1 to 1.79.

Corporate Wellness Programs: Results

Corporate Wellness Programs offer Long-Term Results

Corporate Wellness Programs, according to an article in Crain’s Detroit Business, come in two choices: Corporate Wellness Programs or Medical Insurance products that aim to reduce costs if healthy habits are followed. Both options are good, but only one will really offer long-term medical benefits for your staff members and reduce costs over the years.

Corporate Wellness Programs offer Help

Insurance-based products offer staff members the opportunity, according to the article by Jay Green, to save money on their premiums if they follow certain steps, including performing an internet-based health assessment, visiting their doctor, and agree to adopt a healthy lifestyle. These plans usually involve one coach call to the staff member during the first 90 days. We wonder if these brief wellness encounters will actually change a individual’s lifestyle.

It is the overall change in a individual’s lifestyle, as well as disease prevention that will lead to reduce health costs in the future.

Corporate Wellness Programs offer convenient Health Risk Assessments and screening tests for things like diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure. As the article notes, these have initial start-up costs, but the savings accrue over time and staff members are more likely to stay active in an onsite staff member Wellness Program.

Corporate Wellness Programs Get Results

Finally, the article notes that companies with an effective Corporate Wellness Plan can expect to see “500 percent reduce absenteeism, 400 percent fewer disability claims, and 350 percent reduce health care costs.” These are numbers that are very hard to argue with.