How an Employee Wellness Program can Cut Health Insurance Costs
With all of the recent changes to health care laws, there is a lot of confusion on exactly what is going to happen over the next few years. Because of that, many employers are facing ever increasing Health Insurance Costs without much relief in sight. That is why many employers are turning to Employee Wellness Programs to help defray the costs.
Employee wellness programs have been growing in popularity over the last few years, especially because many health insurance companies are giving employers financial breaks for having healthy employees. As health care costs rise, coupled with an epidemic of overweight and obese adults, it forces health care premiums to rise.
Fortunately, there are solutions available, and one of the most popular and successful for employers has been starting up employee wellness programs. In fact, a recent study by the Gallup Poll has shown that a full 86% of the conditions that employees suffer from because of their health are actually preventable.
By increasing the health of employees, employers will be able to cut down on premium costs and, ultimately, will be able to easily save hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in health care costs. This money can be put back into the company in the form of research and development, employee raises and benefits or even building improvements over the long term. Having healthier employees can easily cause a positive benefits ripple effect through the entire organization in a number of different ways.
In terms of premiums, the prices are skyrocketing, a study done by the Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation found that over the past ten years the costs associated with health care premiums have skyrocketed, increasing by a whopping 113% over that same period. However, those companies that have put employee wellness programs in place over that same period have found a dramatic decrease in the number and amount of annual paid health care claims, in many cases, demonstrating cuts of 50% or more.
The companies that are seeing the most success are those that have been systematically installing these employee wellness programs in their offices. These programs have a number of features that really benefit not only the employers bottom line, but the employees overall health and wellness. Many programs feature one on one guidance for healthy eating and nutrition, as well as personal trainers who can assist employees on how to set up the fitness program that is going to work best for them.
With over 70% of employees who are offered wellness programs joining, it is easy to see how popular the programs have become. Many employees love having the one on one guidance and a personalized program, and because of this, many more employees are having success meeting and even breaking their weight loss goals. Because of this training, employees are changing their lifestyles to become more healthy over the long run.
As the costs of health care rise, one of the best ways to combat these costs is for an organization to install an employee wellness program. The benefits are endless and will not only help the business itself, but many of the employees as well.
