Evaluation of a Comprehensive Employee Wellness Program at an Organization With a Consumer-Directed Health Plan (original) (raw)

Do workplace wellness programs reduce medical costs? Evidence from a Fortune 500 company

Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financing, 2013

The recent passage of the Affordable Care Act has heightened the importance of workplace wellness programs. This paper used administrative data from 2002 to 2007 for PepsiCo's self-insured plan members to evaluate the effect of its wellness program on medical costs and utilization. We used propensity score matching to identify a comparison group who were eligible for the program but did not participate. No significant changes were observed in inpatient admissions, emergency room visits, or per-member per-month (PMPM) costs. The discrepancy between our findings and those of prior studies may be due to the difference in intervention intensity or program implementation.

Workplace Wellness Programs: Services Offered, Participation, and Incentives

Rand health quarterly, 2015

This article leverages existing data on wellness programs to explore patterns of wellness program availability, employers' use of incentives, and program participation and utilization among employees. Researchers used two sets of data for this project: The first included data from the 2012 RAND Employer Survey, which used a nationally representative sample of U.S. employers that had detailed information on wellness program offerings, program uptake, incentive use, and employer characteristics. These data were used to answer questions on program availability, configuration, uptake, and incentive use. The second dataset included health care claims and wellness program information for a large employer. These data were analyzed to predict program participation and changes in utilization and health. The findings underscore the increasing prevalence of worksite wellness programs. About four-fifths of all U.S. employers with more than 1,000 employees are estimated to offer such program...

Health and Wellness Programs: Why Employees Don't Participate

2019

Excerpt] Eighty-five percent of large firms and 58 percent of small ones currently offer at least one program to promote health and wellness (H&W) among employees. Usually these have the twin goals of reducing companies’ healthcare costs while improving the quality of employees’ lives. Research shows that well-designed programs often attain both goals. But even the best of them frequently experience low participation rates, particularly among employees who are most likely to benefit from taking part. Why is this? More specifically, what factors do employees see as the major barriers impeding their participation in these types of programs? This study provides some answers to these questions. It is the first step in a larger research effort to identify interventions that are – and just as important are not – successful in overcoming barriers to participation in H&W programs. The study is taking place in a Fortune 500 company. The present analysis focuses on data provided by 3,000 of t...

Incorporating wellness into employee benefit strategies--why it makes sense

Benefits quarterly, 2013

By putting together a comprehensive wellness strategy, employers are not only "doing the right thing" but also are able to see, believe and maintain the tangible return on investment (ROI) that wellness programs are capable of delivering. This article discusses employers' ROI from wellness initiatives, as well as innovations that support a culture of wellness and what enhanced opportunities for increasing employee wellness are available under health care reform. It also describes how wellness is a component of population health management, as well as a core component of the health care delivery system.

Corporate Wellness Programs: Implementation Challenges in the Modern American Workplace

2013

Being healthy is important for living well and achieving longevity. In the business realm, furthermore, employers want healthy employees, as these workers tend to be more productive, have fewer rates of absenteeism, and use less of their health insurance resources. This article provides an overview of corporate “wellness” efforts in the American workplace and the concomitant challenges which employers will confront in implementing these programs. Consequently, employers and managers must reflect upon wellness policies and objectives, consult with professionals, and discuss the ramifications thereof prior to implementation. The authors herein explore how employers are implementing policies that provide incentives to employees who lead “healthy” lifestyles as well as ones that impose costs on employees who lead “unhealthy” lifestyles. The distinctive contribution of this article is that it proactively explores wellness program implementation challenges and also supplies “best practices” in the modern workplace, so employers can be better prepared when they promulgate wellness policies, and then take practical steps to help their employees become healthier and thereby help to reduce insurance costs. The article, moreover, addresses how wellness policy incentives—in the form of “carrots” as well as penalties—in the form of “sticks” could affect employees, especially “non-healthy” employees, as well as employers, particularly legally. Based on the aforementioned challenges, the authors make practical recommendations for employers and managers, so that they can fashion and implement wellness policies that are deemed to be legal, ethical, and efficacious.