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Increasing numbers of employers are investing in wellness
A gents and brokers that haven't become advocates of the wellness movement or enhanced their services with health and wellness consulting are missing an important opportunity. After years of dabbling in health education, health risk assessments and employee incentives, employers are spending more than ever on wellness programs.
And as positive results become more and more apparent, they are planning to invest even more in the coming years, according to the latest industry survey research.
"There are many competing studies that indicate that health and wellness programs are providing a strong return on investment in a variety of ways, affecting health care costs and reducing the most expensive medical claims," says Robert Kennedy, health and wellness practice leader and benefit consultant at Fidelity Investments in Boston, Massachusetts.
"But it also seems that health and wellness programs have grown beyond the employee benefits program and have become part of corporate culture at many companies. Wellness has become part of a long-term strategy for improving the well-being of the workforce, not just reducing claims and premium costs, and is part of an employer's overall value proposition."
In addition to health insurance-based programs that target identification of risk factors and biometric screening, employers are increasing spending on health incentive programs, he adds. Employers are continuing to offer cash and giftcards as rewards in incentive programs, but increasing number are building reward systems around health savings accounts (HSAs) and flexible savings accounts (FSAs).
"While the use and measurement of corporate wellness programs continue to evolve, it has become clear that many employers understand the value- and are committed to-wellness-based incentives in their company health plan," he explains. "Companies are constantly looking for new and creative ways to...