"Reducing the avoidable costs associated with these (chronic health) conditions is central to meeting the twin challenges of promoting affordable health care and fostering continued economic growth. An Unhealthy America: The Economic Burden of Chronic Disease Charting a New Course to Save Lives and Increase Productivity and Economic Growth. The Milken Institute. October 2007
"A meta-analysis of 56 studies provides strong evidence for average reductions in sick leave, health plan costs, workers compensation and disability costs of slightly more than 25% (related to health promotion programming)" with an average cost to savings ratio of $5.93 to $1. The study also indicated that while health promotion has a sound literature base dating back to the 1970's, "... over half of the studies cited occurred within the last 11 years and show larger average effects and higher cost benefit yields than previous literature." Chapman, L., Meta-Evaluation of Worksite Health Promotion Economic Return Studies: 2005 Update. The Art of Health Promotion July/August 2005: 1-14.
"Employees who improved their health risk status (ie body mass index, high blood pressure, high stress, etc) experienced a measureable improvement of work productivity. Individuals who reduced one health risk improved their presenteeism by 9% and reduced absenteeism by 2%." Pelletier, B., Boles, M., Lynch, W. Change in health risks and work productivity over time. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2004; 46(6); 746-754.
Smaller companies did report higher participation rates than larger companies did in six programming areas (including weight management and ergonomics). McMahan, S., Wells, M., Stokols, D., et al. Assessing Health Promotion Programming in Small Businesses. American Journal of Health Studies 2002; 17(3): 120-128
The Healthy Workforce program addresses all of the previously mentioned items by working with small and medium sized employers to address the impact of health promotion initiatives on absenteeism and presenteeism rates while also focusing on minimizing unnecessary health care utilization without sacrificing quality of care.
"For (Lincoln Industries), the payoff is significantly lower health-care costs. The company pays less than $4,000 per employee, about half the regional average and a savings of more than $2 million. That makes the $400,000 Lincoln Industries spends each year on wellness a bargain." Martin, D., 'Wellness' a healthy investment for company. CNN.com/health. 25 July 2008. December 2008 http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/07/25/fn.healthy.company/index.html>
"Those efforts have paid off both monetarily and in terms of better employee health. Nature's Sunshine estimates that they have saved $5.5 million since 2003. (They calculate this by including a 10% increase trend in costs that they didn't incur.)" Selko, A., Wellness Incentive are Paying Off. IndustryWeek. 18 September 2008. December 2008. http://www.industryweek.com/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=17339>
"In 2005, health insurance premiums decreased by 21%-- a first for the self-insured law firm." Good, C., Wellness Matters. Wellness Council of America. 2006. December 2008. http://www.welcoa.org/freeresources/pdf/wellness_matters_jk.pdf>
“Sixty-five percent of the adult population in the United States can be reached through worksites, which makes them ideal settings to implement strategies for reducing overweight and obesity, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report.” Katz, D., O'Connell, M., Yeh, M., Nawaz, H., Njike, V., Anderson, L., Cory, S., Dietz,W., (October 7, 2005), Public Health Strategies for Preventing and Controlling Overweight and Obesity in School and Worksite Settings. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5410a1.htm
“Fewer than one in six adults… has proficient health literacy, defined as an ability to understand, read, and interpret and then act on health care information.” Kutner, M., Greenberg, E., Jin, Y., and Paulsen, C. (2006). The Health Literacy of America’s Adults: Results from the 2003 National assessment of Adult Literacy (NCES 2006-483). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
“The most effective companies (at offering health and productivity interventions) are more likely to have lower program costs and incidences rates for short- and long-term disability and incidental sick pay programs compared with last year.” Watson Wyatt (2008). 2007/2008 Staying@Work report: Building an effective health and productivity framework. Retrieved February 6, 2009 from http://www.watsonwyatt.com/canada-english/research/resrender.asp?id=2007-US-0216&page=1
According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute survey, “employers are interested in managing rising costs through wellness and disease management programs rather than continuing to shift costs to employees.” PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute (2008). What Employers Want from Health Insurers-Now.
“Studies indicate that almost 50% of corporate profits now go to health care costs versus 7% three decades ago.” McDougall, D. (1999) Feeling Stressed? CMA Management, 73, (9), 14.
"48% of employer's surveys said that the stress created by long hours and doing more with less affects business performance to a great or very great extent." Watson Wyatt (2008). 2007/2008 Staying@Work report: Building an effective health and productivity framework. Retrieved February 6, 2009 from http://www.watsonwyatt.com/canada-english/research/resrender.asp?id=2007-US-0216&page=1
"Small businesses (less than 500 employees) comprise 99.7% of all privately owned businesses in America. Of those businesses, they employ 50.1% of U.S. workforce." U.S. Small Business Administration. Advocacy small business statistics and research. <http://www.sba.gov/advo.stats.sbfaq.pdf> December 2008.
"Wellness programs aren't only a healthcare cost reduction tactic. They are equally effective in boosting productivity, increasing employee loyalty, and demonstrating corporate responsibility." Behind the Numbers, Medical Cost Trends for 2009. PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute. 2008.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic disease accounts for 70% of all deaths; medical care costs of people with chronic diseases account for more than 75% of the nation's $2 trillion medical care costs, and 90% of chronic disease conditions are preventable. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Chronic Disease Overview. <http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/overview.htm> 27 October 2008
For every 100 employees nationwide:
60 are sedentary
25 smoke
20 are obese
27 have cardiovascular disease
10 have diabetes
50 have high cholesterol
24 have high blood pressure
50 are distressed or depressed
The National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.
A Partnership for Prevention study indicates that increasing the percent of employees who receive colorectal cancer screenings to 90% could save 14,000 lives, increasing the percent of women who receive a mammogram could save 3,700 lives, and increasing the number of adults who receive an annual flu shot could save 12,000 lives. Preventive Care: A National Profile on Use, Disparities and Health Benefits, 2007. Partnership for Prevention, Washington D.C.
