A Connecticut company is assisting in a little-noticed component of the federal health reform law ”“ trying to build upon recent successes in supporting healthy lifestyles through employers.
Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is providing $8 million to establish comprehensive workplace health programs, with Arizona-based Veridian Health Management landing the contract along with Ovation Benefits in Farmington.
The companies will use the funding to help up to 100 employers nationally create and expand workplace health programs, creating employer cohorts in various regions and targeting tobacco cessation, nutrition counseling, physical fitness, flextime policies and even onsite farmers markets.
Under the Affordable Care Act, HHS was allocated $200 million for corporate wellness programs but it has not provided details on the timing for that funding. This summer, the agency announced plans to survey employers on their wellness programs.
Connecticut ranked ninth nationally and led the Northeast in a well-being index published by Gallup and Healthways covering 2010, including sub-indexes that gauge healthy behaviors, emotional health and the work environment.
In the same index, lower Fairfield County likewise ranked ninth nationally among metropolitan areas. While the local region barely cracked the top 50 nationally for the emotional health of residents here, that was a vast improvement from 2009 when lower Fairfield County ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally ”“ possibly an indication of the severe toll the recession had on the financial outlook for local families.
The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the indirect costs of poor health ”“ including absenteeism, disability and reduced work output ”“ may be several times higher than direct medical costs with the CDC estimating productivity losses related to personal and family health problems at nearly $1,700 per employee annually, or $226 billion.
The CDC adds that comprehensive worksite health programs can yield on average a $3 return on every dollar spent.
In a survey published last April by Workplace Options Inc., 73 percent of workers polled said they would quit smoking, lose weight or even seek out wellness coaching ”“ if their company paid them to do so.
Raleigh, N.C.-based Workplace Options provides benefits and employee support services.
Employee wellness incentives increased to $430 per employee on average last year, up from $260 in 2009.
For companies that implement a wellness program without incentives, the utilization is under 5 percent, according to Rita Piper, vice president of wellness services for Workplace Options.
“If the employer says, ”˜Here are some wellness opportunities, here is a wellness coach, here”™s a health-risk assessment, we want you to participate,”™ but they”™re not going to give anything to the employee, the employees simply don”™t take advantage of it,” Piper said. “What we do find is if the employee is given a $50 incentive it can increase utilization to perhaps 30 percent. What we also find is if the employers are going to give about a $100 incentive it”™s going to increase participation to maybe 50 percent. And what a lot of employers are doing right now is they”™re actually tying those incentives to the lowering of costs of health care premiums. And as soon as you tie lowering health care premiums to making lifestyle changes, utilization is about 80 percent.”
The new challenge, she added, is for employers to convince employees to adopt these healthier behaviors over the long-term rather than generating temporary interest around an incentive.
