Workplace Health Promotion Programs are proven to improve productivity and reduce medical care costs. For a business, that makes a difference in the bottom-line. Today, more than 81 percent of America’s businesses with 50 or more workers have some form of Workplace Health Promotion Program with the most popular being exercise, tobaccos cessation classes, back care programs, and stress management. Most companies offer Workplace 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 health insurance premiums and medical care 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 incentives and rewards. But these methods merely shift costs. Only Workplace Health Promotion Programs stand out as the long-term answer for keeping workers well in the first place.
Workplace Health Promotion Programs are an example of medical care reform that works. Results from America’s finest businesses, summarized here, are reason enough to consider providing Workplace Health Promotion Programs. This investment in your most important asset – your workers – can have a positive impact on your bottom-line.
Workplace Health Promotion Program 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 Workplace Health Promotion Program. By providing financial incentives and rewards ($250 – $325) to workers who meet specific organizational and worker health initiatives the Workplace Health Promotion Program continues to meet cost containment expectations in the area of medical care use, sick time, injuries, while improving health habits and self-care practices.
During the first 4 years of the Workplace Health Promotion Program there was a 28 percent average reduction in medical care utilization compared to nine other Providence hospitals that were used as a control group.
Du Pont saw that each dollar invested in their Workplace Health Promotion Program returned $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 employees dropped 14 percent at 41 industrial sites where the Workplace Health Promotion Program was offered, compared with a 5.8 percent decline at 19 sites where it was not.
The Travelers Corporation claims a $3.40 return for every dollar invested Workplace Health Promotion Programs, yielding total corporate savings of $146 million in benefits costs. Sick leave was decreased 19 percent 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 Workplace Health Promotion Program were absent from work significantly fewer days than non-members.
The Workplace 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 Workplace Health Promotion Program. Participants significantly lowered cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and weight and experienced 21 percent lower lifestyle-related claim costs than non-participant. Resulting savings: $127.89 per participant in the Workplace 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 organization’s comprehensive Workplace Health Promotion Program. Superior showed 22 percent fewer admissions to a hospital, 29 percent shorter hospital stays, and 42 percent 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 percent.
With medical costs per worker at $6,000, nearly twice the national average, Union Pacific Railroad introduced their Workplace 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 Workplace Health Promotion Program achieved a net savings of $1.26 million. In addition, a voluntary Workplace Health Promotion Program to help workers lower health risks projected a cost-benefit ratio of 1 to 1.57 after one year. Staff Members in a treatment group lowered their risk of high blood pressure (45 percent) and high cholesterol (34 percent); others moved out of the at-risk range for weight problems (30 percent); and 21 percent stopped using tobacco.
Average medical costs of high-risk Steelcase workers- those whose lifestyles include two to four health risks such as smoking, little exercise, overweight- are 75 percent higher than those of low-risk workers. But high-risk workers at this Grand Rapids, Michigan-furniture manufacturing organization who improved their health habits through the company’s Workplace 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 percent 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.
Staff Members at Berk-Tec, a small manufacturing organization in Lancaster County Pennsylvania, learned self-care techniques and lowered their organization’s medical care 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 percent reduction in costs. By combining reductions in doctor visits and emergency room use, the organization saved $39.06 per employee a 24.3 percent 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 Workplace 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 Workplace 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 percent of participants had normal births without complications compared with 50 percent for non-participant.
With savings estimated to be as high as $8 million, the California Public Staff Members’ 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 medical care claim costs. In another study, Bank of America retirees in California who chose the full Workplace Health Promotion Program and demand reduction program showed a decrease in total direct and indirect costs of 11 percent compared with an increase of 6.3 percent for those who completed only a simple health questionnaire.
With lower medical care claims, medical costs decreased 16 percent for employees in the City of Mesa (Arizona) who took part in the comprehensive Workplace Health Promotion Program. The city realized a return of $3.60 for every dollar invested in the wellnss program for the city employees.
To prevent back injuries among its employees, a county in California targeted white- and blue-collar employees, offered classes and fitness training. As a result, there was a significant rise 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.
Workplace Health Promotion Programs: Results
Workplace Health Promotion Programs provide Long-Term Results
Workplace Health Promotion Programs, according to an article in Crain’s Detroit Business, come in two choices: Workplace Health Promotion Programs or Medical Insurance products that aim to reduce costs if healthy habits are followed. Both options are good, but only one will really provide long-term medical benefits for your employees and reduce costs over the years.
Workplace Health Promotion Programs provide Assistance
Insurance-based products provide employees 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 doctor, 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 person’s lifestyle.
It is the overall change in a person’s lifestyle, as well as disease prevention that will lead to reduce health costs in the future.
Workplace Health Promotion Programs provide convenient health risk assessments and testing 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 employees are more likely to stay active in an worksite worker Health Promotion Program.
Workplace Health Promotion Programs Get Results
Finally, the article states that companies with an effective Workplace Health Promotion Program can expect to see “500 percent reduce absenteeism, 400 percent fewer disability claims, and 350 percent reduce medical care costs.” These are numbers that are very hard to argue with.
