For Your Business And Your Workers
For Your Business And Your WorkersDirector, Barnstable County Department Health & Environment
The average U.S. employer spends more than $8,000 annually for each employee's health benefits, including insurance, disability and workers' compensation. In Massachusetts, the local cost of providing health coverage for municipal employees increased 63 percent from 2001 to 2005, more than four times the rate of growth in local budgets. Employee health care as a share of total municipal budgets jumped from 7.4 percent in 2001 to 10.6 percent in 2005, a 42 percent increase. At this rate, health care will consume 15 percent of local budgets within four years.
With no end in sight for near double-digit annual increases in health insurance costs, municipalities and businesses are desperately looking for ways to contain healthcare costs. While the Massachusetts Municipal Association, along with its insurance arm, the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association, is exploring the administrative changes necessary to reduce healthcare costs, municipalities and businesses are discovering the advantages of conducting wellness programs.
Wellness programs are designed to provide employees with the tools they need to maintain good health and thus reduce their health care costs. The centerpiece of many of these programs is the wellness fair.
For many, wellness fairs make dollars and sense. They offer employees free screenings to identify risk factors for a number of conditions including diabetes, coronary disease, skin cancer, osteoporosis, lung disease and others. Most also provide information on nutrition, exercise, and other healthy choices.
To encourage participation, employees are allowed to attend during work hours.
The goals are simpleÑkeep employees healthy by promoting prevention and early diagnosis and treatment of health threatening conditions. They also encourage healthy life choices.
It's a win-win situation.
Employees stay healthy, and the industry reduces its health care costs.
A recent survey by The Principal Financial Group® found that wellness programs creates more productive workers and decreases employee turnover. Cost savings can be substantial.
A 2005 study by Moen, a leading producer of faucets, concluded that for every dollar spent on such programs it saved $3 to $4. Motorola similarly found that it saved $3.93 for every dollar spent. Another recent survey indicated that more than half of multinational corporations surveyed expect to introduce or expand corporate wellness programs over the next five years.
If municipalities and businesses are going to contain rising healthcare costs, wellness initiatives must become a part of the regular workplace landscape. These initiatives are gaining a solid track record for containing costs and resulting in happier and healthier employees.
If you have no idea how to begin the process, contact your local nursing services agencies to determine whether they offer screening services. Another valuable resource is Rita Mitchell, Public Health Nurse for the Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment (508-375-6617). Sue Bourque of the Cape Cod Extension Service (508-375-6693) is an excellent resource for healthy nutrition programs. Internet resources include http://www.wellnessfair.ca/planning_a_health_and_wellness_fair.php and http://www.apha.org/publications/tnh/current/Sept07/Nation/Workplace
The best program will be one that meets your specific needs and encourages the maximum participation. And it's not a bad idea to involve your employees in setting the agenda. Remember, a good wellness program promotes employee health and in the long run helps the bottom line.