Wellness Programs Now as Important as Cost and Workforce Issues.

25% Jump in Corporation Interest in Staff Member Wellness

Corporate wellness for their employees, companys are discovering, is good for the health of their corporations as well. Wellness programs help to cut the costs associated with poor worker health, which include absenteeism, loss of productivity and poor work quality.

A recent Hewitt Associates survey of over 500 USA corporations indicated a meaningful paradigm shift in how corporations 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 employees, with the goal of increaseing 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 illness in their staff members and give them the tools and the information to prevent it. Businesses also demand a way to measure the effectiveness of their health care 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 people  resources to reach out for help is the key to successful lifestyle change.

Corporations 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 health 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.

Companies 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.

Nonetheless, in a separate survey of 30,000 workers, 74% said that, although they felt their business had an obligation to help them understand how to use their health benefits program, only 12% felt the business had any right to tell them how to be healthy.

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

Companys and employees did find common ground when it came to future health care. Both surveys indicate that 95% of employees 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 avoidance when it comes to saving on health care 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 didn’t involve shifting responsibility for healthcare onto employees.

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

These survey leads todicate businesses are getting more proactive in assisting their workers to change behaviors and take ownership of their own health futures. This is clearly good for the well-being of workers, but also for the well-being of the businesses they work for.

Almost half the businesses surveyed were convinced that changing health behaviors was key to increased productivity and lower absentee rates. Over 60% plan to institute programs that help employees change and/or sustain a healthier lifestyle.

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