Employee Health Promotion Programs: The Bottom-Line Booster

Employee Health Promotion Programs are proven to improve productivity and decrease healthcare costs. For a business, that makes a difference in the bottom-line. Today, more than 81% of America's businesses with 50 or more workers have some form of Employee Health Promotion Program with the most popular being exercise, tobaccos cessation classes, back care programs, and stress management. Most businesses offer Employee Health Promotion 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 healthcare costs.

For many businesses, medical costs can consume half of corporate 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 Employee Health Promotion Programs stand out as the long-term answer for keeping workers well in the first place.

Employee Health Promotion Programs are an example of healthcare reform that works. Results from America's finest businesses, summarized here, are reason enough to consider offering Employee Health Promotion Programs. This investment in your most important asset - your workers - can have a positive impact on your bottom-line.

Employee Health Promotion Program Statistics:

Providence Everett Medical Center, a member of the Wellness Councils of America, 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 Employee Health Promotion Program. By offering financial rewards ($250 - $325) to workers who meet specific organizational and worker health initiatives the Employee Health Promotion Program continues to meet cost containment expectations in the area of healthcare use, sick time, injuries, while improving health habits and self-care practices.

During the first 4 years of the Employee Health Promotion Program there was a 28% average reduction in healthcare utilization compared to nine other Providence hospitals that were used as a control group.

Du Pont saw that each dollar invested in their Employee Health Promotion Program yielded $1.42 over two years in lower absenteeism costs at Du Pont Co. (Well worksite Gold in Delaware). Absences from illness unrelated to the job among 45,000 blue-collar staff members dropped 14% at 41 industrial sites where the Employee Health Promotion Program was offered, 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 Employee Health Promotion Programs, yielding total corporate savings of $146 million in benefits costs. Sick leave was decreased 19% during the four-year study. In addition to improving the overall health of 36,000 workers and retirees by decreasing 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 study, members of a Travelers fitness center Employee Health Promotion Program were absent from work significantly fewer days than non-members.

The Employee Health Promotion Program at Reynolds Electrical & Engineering Company, based in Las Vegas, cost $76.24 per worker during the two years it has been in operation. Over half of the 1,600 workers took part in the Employee Health Promotion 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 Employee Health Promotion Program 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 business's complete Employee Health Promotion 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 workers with costs for other divisions. Long-term disability costs were down by 40%.

With medical costs per worker at $6,000, nearly twice the national average, Union Pacific Railroad introduced their Employee Health Promotion Program to its 28,000 workers, 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 Employee Health Promotion Program achieved a net savings of $1.26 million. In addition, a voluntary Employee Health Promotion Program to help workers decrease health risks projected a cost-benefit ratio of 1 to 1.57 after one year. Workers in a treatment group decreased 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 workers- those whose lifestyles include two to four health risks such as tobacco use, little exercise, overweight- are 75% higher than those of low-risk workers. But high-risk workers at this Grand Rapids, Michigan-furniture manufacturing business who improved their health habits through the company's Employee Health Promotion Program 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 workers (20% of the total worker population) in one location changed their lifestyles to become low risk, the projected savings could total $20 million over three years.

Workers at Berk-Tec, a small manufacturing business in Lancaster County Pennsylvania, learned self-care techniques and decreased their business's healthcare costs in one year. By using a self-care guide, the 938 workers 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 corporation saved $39.06 per employee a 24.3% decrease in costs over the previous year.

A medical claims-based study of 72,000 people insured through 285 Wisconsin school districts found a lower demand for medical services among those with access to Employee Health Promotion 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 Employee Health Promotion Program 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 Workers' 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 healthcare claim costs. In another study, Bank of America retirees in California who chose the full Employee Health Promotion Program 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 lower healthcare claims, medical costs decreased 16% for workers in the City of Mesa (Arizona) who took part in the complete Employee Health Promotion Program. The city realized a return of $3.60 for every dollar invested in the wellness program for the city workers.

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

Employee Health Promotion Programs: Benefits

Employee Health Promotion Programs provide Long-Term Benefits

Employee Health Promotion Programs, according to an article in Crain´s Detroit Business, come in two choices: Employee Health Promotion Programs or Health Insurance products that aim to lower costs if healthy habits are followed. Both options are good, but only one will really provide long-term health benefits for your workers and lower costs over the years.

Employee Health Promotion Programs provide Assistance

Insurance-based products provide workers the opportunity, according to the article by Jay Green, to save money on their premiums if they follow certain steps, including performing an online health assessment, visiting their medical provider, and agree to adopt a healthy lifestyle. These plans usually involve one coach call to the worker 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 lower medical cots in the future.

Employee Health Promotion Programs provide convenient health risk assessments and screening tests for things like diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure. As the article states, these have initial start-up costs, but the savings accrue over time and workers are more likely to stay active in an onsite worker Wellness Program.

Employee Health Promotion Programs Get Results

Finally, the article states that companies with an effective Employee Health Promotion Program can expect to see "500 percent lower absenteeism, 400 percent fewer disability claims, and 350 percent lower healthcare costs." These are numbers that are very hard to argue with.