by J. Spencer Milus
As you know, healthcare costs continue to rise at alarming rates. Because of the rising costs of health care and thus, health care premiums, employers have tweaked their benefit plan designs to not only continue to offer competitive health care insurance, but also to afford offering insurance at all. Benefit plan designs have changed from low co-pays and out of pocket maximums, to higher deductibles and more consumer driven health plans – but is this the only lever employers have to pull when it comes to mitigating their rising health insurance costs?
In an effort to gain greater control over rising costs, employers are offering wellness programs and health services to their employees. By assisting your employees to be more aware of their current health status, educating them to make good lifestyle choices and empowering them to be a better consumer of health care, you can attain both long term and short term benefits not only from a cost stand point, but also from a workforce stand point – by creating more productive and happy employees.
You may be saying “aren’t I already doing this?” Wellness is not something new and employers have offered wellness programs for years – we’ve all heard of health screenings, lunch and learn programs, and weight loss contests in the workplace. But, in this day in age, employers need to evaluate the next level of wellness. So, what else is there?
Instead of offering only basic wellness programs that tend to be one-time events, employers can provide more relevant ongoing support through onsite health services– such as
- Dedicated health coaches to assist individuals in making healthy lifestyle changes and better manage their conditions.
- Consumer advocates to help employees better understand their benefits and how to use them effectively.
Onsite health services do not always mean access to primary or general health care at the workplace; it can be as simple as an onsite wellness coordinator or telephone hotline to provide day to day assistance for employees. These types of programs provide guidance when employees need it the most – and, employers of all sizes are finding onsite health strategies that fit their unique needs. By taking the first step, and evaluating a population’s specific needs, employers can provide a more targeted approach to wellness and meaningful supportive programs for employees.
In addition to more targeted wellness programming, employers can take their incentive programs to the next level. Many employers are already moving from no incentives, or participation-based incentives, to outcomes-based incentives – such as rewarding employees for a healthy blood pressure at a screening, for being a non-smoker, or even for better managing their chronic conditions. This provides financial motivation for employees to not only participate in any supportive wellness programs, but also work to achieve and maintain good health outcomes.
It’s a fact – nearly 67% of all chronic diseases are due to lifestyle choices, and are completely preventable. Employers can no longer just ‘buy’ wellness programs, they need to invest in an overall health strategy and begin to change the culture of the employee population to improve health outcomes. Successful strategies will move from traditional screening events and occasional educational programs, to a fully integrated, sustained and meaningful wellness plan that will provide employees with relevant supportive programming while mitigating overall health care costs and improving the bottom line.
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