Company Health & Wellness Initiatives are becoming popular outside the workplace, showing the ever-increasing importance of disease prevention and health risk management.  Private insurance corporations, as well as state Medicaid and Medicare offices are working on ways to improve the health of the people they insure in hopes to save money in the long run.  They are finding that mini-Company Health & Wellness Initiatives are definitely the way to go.

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives Help with Early Intervention

According to an article that appeared in The Indianapolis Star, businesses, insurers and government agencies are turning to “early intervention to change the behavior of those struggling with common but dangerous health conditions, such as asthma, diabetes, heart failure and coronary heart disease.”

The tactics that they incorporate to improve their beneficiaries’ wellness postcard reminders for different lab tests or check-ups; and possibly even phone calls from nurses to work with the patients to make sure that they are taking their medicines properly and following the lifestyle changes that were suggested by their medical care provider.

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives Offer Quality Benefits

There are more benefits to a Company Health & Wellness Initiative than just the cost savings that an employer or a state agency will see; there is the benefit to the actually patient.  The patient is going to get the motivation and the incentive to get better or to manage their health and their health risks by having to answer to someone, whether that someone is a full-time wellness worker at their company or a nurse affiliated with their insurance company.

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives are as close to a grand slam proposition as you’ll find, according to most researchers and Company Health & Wellness experts.

But if you have skeptics in your organization who are questioning the time and expense of starting an Company Health & Wellness Initiative, you may be wary too. Aren’t worker Health Promotion Programs subject to the adage “There’s no such thing as a free lunch”?

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives Don’t Have To Be Expensive

Fortunately, worker Health Promotion Programs don’t require a big investment. Like any other corporate project, mismanagement and “death by committee” can inflate the cost of worker Health Promotion Programs, but it’s hard to spend too much time and money on them. After all, worker Health Promotion Programs are mostly informational in nature. Flyers, e-mails, maps, and Employee Health Promotion Health and Wellness Fairs can only cost so much. There’s no expensive, specialized Company Health & Wellness Initiative machinery.

Employee Health Promotion statistics on successful programs are particularly persuasive. Unlike many cost-saving measures, worker Health Promotion Programs actually add to worker satisfaction – but they also reduce Medical Insurance premiums and worker absenteeism.

What are some common worker Health Promotion Programs?

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives run the gamut, depending on your workplace demographic, from physical activity for health patients to nutritional initiatives that encourage workers to replace unhealthy snack foods with healthy fare like dried fruit and shelled nuts.

Following are some examples of worker Health Promotion Programs:

• ergonomic safety
• cardiovascular disease education and testing
• worker safety
• health risk assessments
• walking wellness programs
• drug testing

Company obesity has become one of the fastest growing medical care problems in America. It is well known that America is considered one of the, if not “the”, heaviest countries in the world. This is largely in part due to fast food, un-healthy snacks and a very sedentary lifestyle. However, what many people are not aware of is that the rate of obesity in our country has doubled in the last 30 years and this weighs heavily on a corporation’s bottom line.

According to a new report from The Conference Board, Weights and Measures: What Employers Should Know about Obesity, obese staff members cost private businesses an estimated $45 billion annually. Following are some of the report’s findings:

Obesity is associated with a 36% increase in spending on medical care, more than smoking or problem drinking.
34% of adult Americans fit the definition of “obese”
Obesity related health problems are costing American corporations millions of dollars annually in medical expenditures and work loss.

Company Obesity: How businesses Can Help

With the increase in obesity and employer costs associated with it, it is more and more imperative to establish a way to assist staff members with their healthy living choices. Company Health & Wellness Initiatives can help businesses help their staff members. By providing assistance with health screening, health risk assessments and by conducting Employee Health Promotion surveys; Company Health & Wellness Initiatives allow the employer non-invasive ways to communicate their concerns about their worker’s health.

We suggest establishing a Walking Company Health & Wellness Initiative to assist your staff members in meeting their weight-loss goals. Walking Wellness is a program designed to get your staff members away from their desk and get them outside for a little physical activity. Keep it fun by having contests, setting up weight-loss teams and having organized healthy picnics.

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives … do they offer a strong return on investment? This is a question that we are sure goes through ever corporation’s mind. HR Magazine addresses the corporate wellness ROI topic in their June 2008 issue.

Corporate Wellness ROI: The Bottom Line

According to the article, titled “Finding Wellness’ Return on Investment,” determining Corporate Wellness ROI is not an easy thing to do for corporations because it involves a lot of different variables and time.

However, the businesses that have taken the time to determine the Corporate Wellness ROI of their Company Health & Wellness Initiatives have found that it is quite significant. Not to mention, the Company Health & Wellness program’s effect on the improvement of worker health and the slowing of the rate of their worker medical care expenses.

Corporate Wellness ROI Alliance

Corporate Wellness ROI is such an important part of today’s corporate culture, that several large businesses have come together to form the Alliance for Wellness ROI, Inc. According to the HR Magazine article, The Alliance for Wellness ROI was specifically created to address the lack of consistency in proving the value of Company Health & Wellness Initiatives.

The alliance, formed by BMW of North America, Henry Ford Health System, Kraft Foods Global, MasterCard Worldwide and Schlumberger Limited, strongly believes in showing the value of Company Health & Wellness Initiatives and want to develop a standard for how Company Health & Wellness Initiatives are measured.

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives Components

According the alliance, the following components should make up an corporate-offered worker Company Health & Wellness Initiative:

• Disease Management Initiatives
• Employee assistance Initiatives
• Fitness and physical activity Initiatives
• Health risk assessments
• On-Site medical care Initiatives
• Individual wellness profiles
• Preventive health screenings and immunizations
• Tobacco-cessation Initiatives
• Telephone based wellness Initiatives
• Weight loss and weight management Initiatives
• Wellness educational opportunities and information
• Self-Care Initiatives

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives are important now more than ever.  According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, with the troubles in the economy it seems that the costs of employer offered medical care keep continuing to grow and it doesn’t seem like it is going to change.  The article states that during the year 2008, American businesses can expect to see an increase of 10% in medical care costs.

This increase in medical care costs is causing some small businesses to reduce their worker health benefits or get rid of them altogether.

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives for Healthier Lifestyles

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives do offer an option for small businesses.  The corporations can offer discounted co-pays and deductibles to those staff members that fully participate in the offered Company Health & Wellness Initiative.  Full participation means getting health screens, receiving a health risk assessment, and then working with their wellness coordinator to work towards a healthier lifestyle.

The healthier the staff members, the lower the overall medical care costs for the corporation.  Just one lengthy hospital stay can almost deplete a small business’ medical care budget.

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives and Your Bottom Line

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives offer many advantages to a corporation’s bottom-line.  Health Promotion Statistics from Prudential Insurance show a benefit expense of $312 per individual enrolled in a Company Health & Wellness Initiative compared to an expense of $574 per worker that wasn’t enrolled.  Coors Brewing Company showed a positive side-effect of participant absenteeism dropping by 18%, thus greater production and less medical care costs overall.

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives are a healthy investment, at least according to Lincoln industries in Nebraska.  CNN reported on this 565 worker company located in Lincoln, Nebraska and their serious and committed investment in their worker’s wellness.

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives are part of company Culture

The Company Health & Wellness Initiatives, according the story, has been in place for 16 years at Lincoln industries, and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.  The company has three full-time staff members dedicated to the Company Health & Wellness Initiative and the wellness of the staff members, who receive on-site massages and a round of instructor-led stretching before they start their shifts.

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives Assessed

According to CNN, one of the stipulations of the Company Health & Wellness Initiative, which staff members are not required to participate in, is that they receive quarterly checkups where assessments are completed on their weight, amount of body fat and flexibility.  Based on these health assessments, the staff members are then ranked from platinum all the way down to “non-medal”.  To become platinum level, where you receive a company-paid climbing trip, you must achieve certain fitness levels and be a non-smoker.  Smoking cessation classes are part of the Company Health & Wellness Initiative.

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives Bring Big Savings

The Company Health & Wellness Initiative has been a wise investment for Lincoln Industries.  By having healthier staff members, they have seen an average of $2 million in savings in medical care costs per year.  The savings don’t stop there, since instituting a Company Health & Wellness Initiative, workers’ compensation claims have gone from $500,000 per year down to less than $10,000 per year.

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives, according to an article in Crain’s Detroit Business, come in two choices:  Company Health & Wellness Initiatives or Medical Insurance products that aim to lower costs if healthy habits are followed.  Both options are good, but only one will really offer long-term medical benefits for your staff members and lower costs over the years.

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives offer Help

Insurance-based products offer staff members the opportunity, according to the article by Jay Green, to save money on their premiums if they follow certain steps, including performing an online health assessment, visiting their physician, and agree to adopt a healthy lifestyle.  These plans usually involve one coach call to the worker 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.

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives offer convenient health risk assessments and health testing 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 staff members are more likely to stay active in an onsite worker Wellness Program.

Company Health & Wellness Initiatives Get Results

Finally, the article states that corporations with an effective Company Health & 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.