Health And Wellness In The WorkplaceHealth And Wellness In The Workplace

It is clear to virtually every American (especially those of us in business) that health care costs are skyrocketing out of control. No one doubts that either the market will solve the issue OR the government will impose one on us. Managed care has failed from either a cost containment or quality of care perspective. Employers have reached the point where the expense of offering health care insurance is almost as burdensome as government regulation. It’s time for some new thinking on health care and its effect on business and vice versa. “Corporate wellness” as an operational perspective rather than merely window dressing is one way to deal effectively with rising health care costs.

The Insurance Delimma

The first step in solving the concern is to realize that an employee’s health is their own responsibility. Expecting companies to offer unlimited health care insurance coverage is simply unrealistic and unreasonable. It’s time for companies (on a broad scale) to reconsider their role in providing health care insurance coverage. Instead of providing complete coverage for all employees through group plans, companies ought to start to modify the burden of health coverage to those covered.

Here’s the approach. Offer catastrophic medical insurance as a group benefit to all employees with a sizable enough deductible (say $5000 per employee) to make the expense affordable for the employer. Then, allow employees to buy their own medical insurance policies (based on their own needs) and pay for them through payroll deduction with pre-tax earnings. There are numerous insurance companies that sell individual plans on this basis. Everybody wins. Staff Members can tailor their coverage to their own needs and circumstances using their own doctors. Companies win by stopping the endless cycle of rising costs and ever-changing plans. And when individuals become responsible for the expense of their own insurance, they become more attentive to their own health. Besides, if an employee is interested in working for you ONLY because your employer offers great insurance benefits aren’t they telling you they’re going to cost you more money in the future?

Create a “Wellness Culture”

Our current “sickness culture” perpetuates the health care crisis and hastens the demise of market-based solutions. By sickness culture, I mean our focus on health problems instead of on having a healthy workplace and performance culture.

So, what would a “wellness culture” look like? First, rather than paid sick days, workers might be rewarded at year’s end with an attendance bonus. Employees would be reimbursed for successful completion of tobacco cessation and weight-loss programs. Corporations would invest in corporate memberships at local health clubs so every employee can take part. Employees would be offered in-house wellness programs on a variety of issues ranging from ergonomics to stress management. Finally, employers would commit to hiring and retaining healthy workers. Simply put, healthy workers cost less and are more constructive than unhealthy ones. Applicants ought to be screened for health habits and practices that limit their work rate and improve the likelihood of future expense. While this may seem harsh, it rewards those workers whose personal lifestyle and habits ensure the best Return on Investment by the organization committing to hire, train and pay them.

Be open to “alternative and complementary” approaches

Studies published in primary medical care journals reveal that people who use “alternative and complementary” health modalities (including chiropractic, acupuncture, yoga and massage) are generally healthier, better educated, take fewer medications and miss fewer days from work than the average American. Since these people look for ways to stay healthy without prescriptions and surgery, they end up being a net benefit in terms of attendance and work rate. Old prejudices in this area should be discarded in order for companies to better work rate and boost profitability

Conclusion

Health Care costs are growing at a staggering pace. Managed care is an abysmal failure. Corporations are buckling under the pressure of providing health coverage to their employees. American competitiveness in the market is sagging. These times call for extraordinary solutions. It’s time for American corporations to consider some out-of-the-box solutions to the health care crisis. Company wellness is an approach that is timely, achievable and reasonable given the alternatives. All options must be considered while we still have a chance.