Company Health and Wellness : Benefits of Company Health Promotion Programs*

The expenditures of medical have been rising more than 10 percent each year for several years. A substantial amount of the money spent in the medical system treats costly illnesses and diseases.

• Approximately 95 percent of the $1.4 trillion that we spend as a nation on health goes to direct medical care services, while about 5 percent is allocated to preventing disease and promoting health.
• Potentially, 50 percent to 70 percent of all diseases are avoidable as they are associated with potentially-modifiable health risks.
• In an effort to optimize employee health, decrease avoidable medical care utilization and enhance work performance, and in turn lower medical care expenditures and improve employee satisfaction and retention, many companies are planning, or are interested in planning, Corporate Wellness Programs for workers.

The advantages of worksite wellness are well documented. Greater than 120 research studies repeatedly show themes such as improvements in health outcomes coupled with high returns on investment (ROI). Some primary findings include the following:

• Savings of $3.48 in reduced medical care expenditures per dollar invested.
• Savings of $5.82 in decrease absenteeism costs per dollar invested.
• ROIs of at least $3 to $8 per dollar invested within five years of program implementation.
• Lifestyle behavior modification programs: $3 to $6 return on investment within 2 to 5 years.
• Self care, decision reinforcement programs: $2 to $3 ROI within a year.
• Disease Management (DM) programs: $7 to $10 return on investment within a year.

By offering health improvement programs, companies are not only offering an additional service for workers, but they are also gaining monetarily. Furthermore, the impact of a health improvement program goes beyond diminished medical care cost and return on investment. A health improvement program can affect productiveness, absenteeism, morale, recruitment success, turnover, and medical care expenditures.

• Source: Rees, C., and Finch, R. (2004). Health Improvement: A comprehensive guide to starting, implementing and evaluating worksite programs. National Business Group on Health, 1 (1), 1-7.