Employee Health and Wellness

Employee Health and Wellness Programs provide Long-Term Savings

Employee Health and Wellness Programs, according to an article in Crain’s Detroit Business, come in two varieties:  Employee Health and Wellness Programs or Health Insurance products that aim to lower costs if healthy habits are followed.  Both options are a good choice, but only one will really provide long-term health benefits for your employees and lower costs over the years.

Employee Health and Wellness Programs provide Help

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 internet-based health assessment, visiting their doctor, and agree to adopt a healthy lifestyle.  These plans usually involve one coach call to the staff member during the first 90 days.  We wonder if these brief wellness encounters will actually change a individual’s lifestyle.

It is the overall change in a individual’s lifestyle, as well as disease prevention that will lead to lower health costs in the future.

Employee Health and Wellness Programs provide convenient health risk assessments and screening tests 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 staff member Wellness Program.

Employee Health and Wellness Programs Get Results

Finally, the article states that corporations with an effective Employee Health and Wellness Initiative can expect to see “500 percent lower absenteeism, 400 percent fewer disability claims, and 350 percent lower medical care costs.”  These are numbers that are very hard to argue with.