Worksite wellness: Is your company ready to jump in?

As our region continues to regain its balance in the wake of economic recession, employers across the spectrum are acutely reminded of the importance of controlling costs while maximizing employee productivity. Great employers also understand that their employees are their company's primary asset, and promoting a healthy, happy, productive workforce is essential to long-term success.

Although most large employers currently offer wellness programs for their employees, many others have not yet jumped in. Whether it's offering rewards for increased physical activity, requiring the completion of your health plan's health risk assessment to be eligible for employer-sponsored health benefits, participating in annual onsite health screenings or attending health-related presentations, the scope and depth of these programs varies widely and can be accessible to small business owners.

Promoting healthy behaviors among employees via employee wellness programs can be an effective way to lower a company's health care spend several reports cite a $2-to-$3 return on investment for every dollar spent on such programs. Yet, many employers struggle with the best way to achieve this goal. Employers also differ on what constitutes a healthy employee base, which can complicate the issue.

While there's no one-size-fits-all solution for the perfect employee health program, employers considering a new program or revamping an old one might evaluate the following possibilities.

What tools are available to measure employee health?

Health risk assessments

By asking employees to complete an online health risk assessment, or HRA, employers can establish an aggregate baseline for the health practices of their workforce. Many vendors, including most health plans, offer access to these surveys, and the results can help employers determine what, if any, resources or plan benefits they might encourage for their employees. For example, through an HRA assessment an employer might learn that their employees generally don't get enough physical activity. With such knowledge, the employer might consider partnering with a local fitness club to offer employees discounted membership rates, or they might establish a friendly worksite fitness challenge to help reduce the gap.

Biometric health screenings

Health screenings can help identify employees who are at risk for certain chronic diseases, like heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Simple blood tests in tandem with common measurements like blood pressure, weight and height can help employees learn about their health risks, while giving the employer additional information to help develop programs or services to help address identified risks. Encouraging employees to establish a relationship with a primary care home is also a simple step to get employees assessed for important health risks. By targeting potential health issues before they become major problems, individuals and employers can help avoid serious illness and costly interventions in the future.

What does a good employee health and wellness

program look like?

The following examples represent a few of the components commonly employed by wellness programs.

Incentives for increased physical activity

By offering employees rewards for meeting certain fitness goals, employers can help encourage an increase in physical activity. Some employers will provide incentives to employees who complete predefined tasks (i.e., walking five miles per week), or may offer partial reductions in the health premiums for which employees are financially responsible.

Worksite wellness presentations

Many employers schedule presentations often during the lunch hour where health experts present information about how to stop smoking, eat better, reduce stress or increase physical activity. These presentations can help put health behaviors on employees' radars and also target specific health-related topics, such as how to manage diabetes, heart disease or other chronic illness. According the Centers for Disease Control, chronic diseases are largely preventable but are among the most common and costly health concerns to treat and manage.

Onsite immunizations

Influenza, more commonly known as the flu, sickens thousands every year and can be deadly for certain people, especially young children, older adults or those with certain health conditions. By providing onsite vaccinations against seasonal flu, employers can help protect employees and their families, and can potentially impact productivity and attendance by reducing sick days due to illness. Most health plans cover annual flu shots, and if they don't, retail prices for seasonal flu vaccine are fairly modest.

How can I tell if my program is successful?

How an employer measures the success of an employee wellness program really depends on what the employer wants to achieve. Many if not most employers are interested in demonstrating a decreased spend in health care costs specifically, a reduction in the amount of employer-paid premiums to cover employee health insurance. It is reasonable to assume (although not always the case) that a healthier employee base means less utilization of health care services particularly for more complex health issues which in turn means less money spent on insurance premiums.

Employers can also track the success of employee health programs in other ways, such as measuring an increase in worker attendance and productivity. Employers can also look at how a program impacts employee retention and turnover. Figures vary, but it is generally accepted that turnover costs can range in the thousands of dollars for every employee that must be recruited and trained to replace a lost position.

What are the next steps to implement a wellness program?

Employers who receive insurance coverage through a third-party should ask their provider what options are available for employee wellness. Complementing health and wellness benefits already offered by your health insurance plan such as incenting participation in tele-coaching sessions, tobacco cessation services or annual flu shot campaigns can make this an easy step. If an insurance provider doesn't offer these resources, there are several organizations most of which can be found via a simple online search that specialize in the development and deployment of these programs.

In a period where health care costs are increasing, a commitment to employee health especially on a large scale has the potential to create future long-term savings. Employers that take a broader view of health management, where the perspective is about investment vs. cost control, are ahead of the game and will ultimately contribute to the success of their business and the health of our economic system.

Amy J. Khan, M.D., is the chief medical officer for Saint Mary's Health Plans, where she oversees the plans' health management and quality improvement efforts. Contact her at 775-770-6000 or through www.saintmaryshealthplans.com.