Health and Wellness Benefits - Charlotte Chamber of Commerce

Health and Wellness Benefits:
Do They Really Impact
the Bottom Line?

What is Worksite Wellness?
An organized program at the worksite
designed to target particular health risk
factors that are modifiable and associated
with particular kinds of illness (chronic
disease). This type of program is intended
to assist employees and their family
members (and/or retirees) in making
voluntary behavior changes.
Source: WELCOA
93% of companies invested in some type of wellness program in
2009, up from 88% in 2008 (Kaiser Family Foundation).

Current Healthcare Environment
Really, a “sick care” system. Best
quality sick care in the world.
Driven by a “reactive” approach.
• Physicians practice reactive medicine.
• Employers react to rising costs by changing
plan designs, Carriers/TPA’s, etc. creating an
environment of constant change.
• Employees react to rising costs by avoiding
timely treatment, and taking less
responsibility for their own behavior.

Pro-active Approach
The “reactive” approach misses the target and
leads to further disconnect between the
healthcare providers, employers (payers) and
employees (consumers) of medical services.
A “proactive” approach identifies individuals at risk
before they incur claims, preventing explosive costs
associated with chronic disease onset.

Why invest in a wellness program?
Can you afford not to?
If food prices had risen the same rate as medical inflation since the
1930’s, we would be paying…..
1dz Eggs $ 80.20
1lb Apples $ 12.23
1lb Sugar $ 13.70
1 roll Toilet Paper $ 24.20
1dz Oranges $107.90
1lb Butter $102.07
1lb Bananas $ 16.04
1lb Bacon $122.48
1lb Coffee $ 64.17
1lb Beef $ 43.57
_________________________________________________________
10 Item Total $586.56
Source: American Institute for Preventive Medicine, 2007

Why Invest in a Wellness Program?
Chronic Diseases are COSTLY!!!!
Average annual healthcare expenditures for a diabetic
participant are $18,000 compared to $4,000 for a nondiabetic.
20.8 million Americans have diabetes and
6.2 million of those are undiagnosed.
By 2015, annual per capita healthcare
expenditures will exceed $15,000.
65 million Americans have hypertension, a number that
grows almost 2% a year
Smokers cost $3,400 per year, $1,623 on excess medical
costs and $1,760 on lost productivity.

Why Implement a Wellness Program?
To reduce rising healthcare costs
To reduce an employee’s modifiable risk factors and
lower their chances of developing a chronic disease
To keep healthy employees healthy
Reduce workplace injuries
Improve productivity, improve morale and reduce
absenteeism
To reduce sick leave
Improve health consumer skills

The two major steps to implementing
worksite wellness…..
Step 1: Assessment
Health Risk Assessment (HRA) ~ Identify personal
lifestyle factors, many different varieties (selfreported)
BioMetric Measures ~ venipuncture vs. Cholestech
Reporting to individuals and employer: does it assess
and quantify health risk
Step 2: Intervention

Health Risk Assessments
Questionnaires
Self-Reported Information
Length
Results

Biometric Measures
Cholestech- Finger Prick
Venipuncture- Arm Draw
Labs to include in testing
Physician thoughts

Reporting
Decision on what you are hoping to gain
from this assessment.
Individual – What do you want
employees to walk away knowing after
their assessment?
Aggregate- What type of data are you
looking to collect on your employees?

Step 2 in Worksite Wellness…..
Step 2: Intervention
Intervention programs depend on the size of
the employer
Smaller employers will more likely keep their
programs simple in design and offer only one
topic at a time
Larger employers will provide a more complex
intervention and offer a more comprehensive
menu of choices

Intervention Options…..
Group Lunch and Learns
Face-to-Face Health
Coaching
On-site Clinics
Tobacco Cessation
Disease Specific Programs
Gym Memberships
Telephonic Health
Coaching
Worksite challenges
(biggest loser, etc)
Walking Programs
Worksite Exercise Classes
Stress Management
Carrier Disease
Management Programs

Three Levels of Intervention Programs
1. Level One: Quality of Work Life
This type of program is morale building, least expensive to
implement (under $50) and provides the least ROI.
2. Level Two: Traditional Programming
This type of program has an emphasis on biometric measures,
minimal use of incentives, expect to spend $50 to $150 PEPY,
ROI expected around $1.50 to $3.50 per dollar invested.
3. Level Three: Health and Productivity
Management
Begin collecting data that is quantifiable, link wellness to employee
benefits, largest investment (up to $450 PEPY, ROI expected around
$3.6 to $7.0 per dollar invested.
Source: Larry Chapman, Summex Health Management

Evaluation:
Survey- Employee Feedback
Data
Absenteeism & Presenteeism
Morale
Culture
Medical Claims & Utilization
Turnover
Workers Compensation
Disability

Survey
Surveying the employees allows you to
develop programs based upon their
needs (not what you think they need).
Helps gauge motivation and participation
levels.
Illustrates the changes over time in
employee satisfaction in regards to the
programs and measures changes in
behavior.

Why Collecting Data is Important
Allows you to communicate why a
program is important.
Allows senior level executives and
management to understand the health
and risk factors of the employees.
Allows the employees to understand the
health of the population.
Allows you to measure change which will
show the value of the program.

Absenteeism & Presenteeism
Definition of Absenteeism- Amount of time
employees are paid while not at work.
Braun Consulting places absenteeism in three buckets.
1. Authorized (approved)
2. Legal (public holidays)
3. Unauthorized (what organizations strive
to avoid and measure)
Presenteeism – the amount of time employees are at
work but not really working
Beginning to be a significant employer cost and is gaining
credibility among employers
The problem with presenteeism is that the effects exist long before
employees become absent.

Absenteeism & Presenteeism- The
Bottom Line
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Of all expenses related to absence, unscheduled
time off has the biggest impact on productivity,
profitability and morale. Companies lose an
approximate 2.8 Million workdays each year
because of employee injuries and illness.

Absenteeism & Presenteeism- The
Bottom Line (continued)
Top Ten Most Costly Health Conditions
Condition
Hypertension
Heart Disease
Depression
Arthritis
Allergies
Diabetes
Migraines
Cancer
Respiratory Infections
Asthma
Goetzel, R.,. JOEM, 45 (1):5-14. 2003
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Total cost Using average presenteeism
estimate per ee/per year
$392.31
$368.34
$348.04
$326.88
$271.04
$256.91
$213.78
$144.01
$133.84
$99.55

Morale
Most underestimated measure in a
wellness program.
Enhances loyalty to the organization.
Great retention and recruitment tool.
Employees do not leave companies
because of money, they leave because
they do not feel appreciated.

Culture
Cultural assessment should include…..
» Healthy cafeteria/ vending machine
options
» Opportunities for physical activity at the
work-site
» Healthy food choices at company parties
» Bulletin boards with educational
information
» Presentations and/or education on
healthy eating
» Health related break stations (i.e. blood
pressure checks, glucose, etc.)
» Tobacco Free work-place

Medical Claims and Utilization
Overall Medical Claims and Expenses
Emergency Room usage versus Urgent
Care
Primary Care visits
Labs
Medication Compliance
Length of Hospital Stays and
Admissions
Risk changes

Workers Compensation/ Disability &
Turnover
Healthier employees are less likely to
injure themselves on the job, and if
injured, they have a quicker recovery
time.
Healthier employees have shorter
disability lengths and fewer claims for
chronic illness.
Minimize turnover due to retention of
healthy employees.

Keys to a Successful Wellness Program
Strong C-Suite, Senior and Mid-level
management support
Programming that allows for measurable
changes in risks
Positive Communication
Programs that employees need and want
Well paced programming
Effective use of incentives

Incentives
Gift cards
Trinkets
Paid Time Off
Party
Management Incentives
Workout Gear
Raffle Prize
Points-Based Incentives
Cash
Discount on Insurance Premium
Deposits: Many employers today are making deposits
into a Health Savings, Health Reimbursement and
Flexible Spending Accounts, along with creating
Health Incentive Accounts. Typically deposit accounts
are criteria-based programs

Rewards of Wellness Programs
Rewards for the community:
Programs contribute to establishing good health in the community
Reinforces national and local public health initiatives
Improves quality of life
Rewards for Employees:
Increased health literacy
Increased knowledge about the relationship between lifestyles and
health
Improved control over health
Rewards for the Employer:
Many economic rewards
Provides a model for other organizations
Good PR

RESOURCES:
WELCOA
Vendors
Mecklenburg County: Fit City
CDC
The Employers Association