Posted on: Monday, June 23, 2003
More companies are promoting health
By Joy Davia
Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle
From dumbbells and treadmills to blood screenings to veggie burgers in the company cafeteria, most middle- to large-sized businesses nationwide are promoting wellness programs.
The employers offer the programs for several reasons: Healthy workers tend to be more productive, and fun benefits can enhance workers' job satisfaction.
But there's also a bottom line. Keeping employees healthy and happy might help to slow the growth of medical costs, which are driving up the price of doing business.
In a tight economy, companies are grappling with spiraling health insurance costs, especially as baby boomers age and more people delay retirement. Businesses bank on wellness programs, hoping it will be cheaper to educate employees now about healthy living than it will be to pay later for costly medical care.
Advocates point to a slew of studies in research journals to prove their point.
For example, Johnson & Johnson Co. saves about $225 annually per employee on medical costs among those enrolled in its program. That's a total yearly savings of about $8.5 million, mainly in reduced medical expenses such as doctor and hospital bills and in related administrative expenses such as processing paperwork.
Still, according to the Wellness Councils of America, only about 20 percent of all businesses with wellness initiatives offer programs comprehensive enough to make a difference.
"I cannot count the number of employers who say they offer 20 different programs a year but have not seen a cut in costs or a healthier work force," said David Hunnicutt, president of the Wellness Councils of America.
Many programs lack ways to tell whether the company is saving money and employees' overall health has improved and also lack mechanisms that use such data to make improvements.
"It's very, very difficult to say a program has had this direct result. There are too many intervening factors," said Will Kuchta, vice president of organizational development at Paychex Inc. "But we certainly have direct evidence of individual employees changing their lives, sometimes significantly."
Mark Francis, instructional designer in Paychex's training department, credits the wellness program with turning him into a healthier adult.
In 2001, a free Paychex screening showed that he had slightly high cholesterol and body fat levels, among other problems. An evaluator told Francis that he needed more exercise and had a 75 percent chance of developing heart disease.
The next day, Francis decided to skip the elevator and climb the four flights to his office.
"By the time I reached the fourth floor, I thought I was having a heart attack," he said. "I was flushed for breath and was leaning against the wall."
In the next year, he ate more fruits and vegetables and drank lots of water. He started to run, completing his first 5K race. A year later he was given a greatly improved health assessment.
But David Klein — chief executive of the Lifetime Healthcare Cos., parent company of the Rochester, N.Y.- area BlueCross plan — said wellness programs are more of an employee perk. He doubts their ability to cut medical costs, even if a company self-insures its employees.
"If it really worked, you'd see it everywhere — and you don't," he said.
