Posted by Health Wellness | Posted in Health And Wellness In The Workplace | Posted on 11-05-2009
The costs of medical have been rising more than ten 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 preventable as they are associated with modifiable health risks.
• In an effort to optimize employee health, cut preventable medical care utilization and enhance work performance, and in turn lower medical care expenditures and better employee satisfaction and retention, many businesses are developing, or are interested in developing, Worksite Wellness Programs for employees.
The benefits of workplace wellness are well documented. More 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 expenditures per dollar invested.
• Savings of $5.82 in cut absenteeism expenditures per dollar invested.
• ROIs of at least $3 to $8 per dollar invested within five years of program implementation.
• Lifestyle behavior change programs: $3 to $6 return on investment within 2 to 5 years.
• Self care, decision backing programs: $2 to $3 ROI within a year.
• Disease management programs: $7 to $10 return on investment within a year.
By offering health improvement programs, corporations are not only offering an additional service for employees, but they are also gaining financially. Furthermore, the effect of a health improvement program goes beyond decreased healthcare cost and return on investment. A health improvement program can affect productivity, absenteeism, morale, recruitment success, turnover, and healthcare costs.
• Source: Rees, C., and Finch, R. (2004). Health Improvement: A comprehensive guide to starting, launching and evaluating worksite programs. National Business Group on Health, 1 (1), 1-7.