10 REASONS THAT SHOW CORPORATE
WELLNESS IS A GREAT INVESTEMENT
1) Research published in 2005 found that health-coaching participants medical costs were down 10% over 3 years, while the same costs for non-participants increased 21%.
2) Other studies have found that up to 90% of those who received health-coaching continued to exercise independently, even after 6 months, which translates into healthier, more productive employees who file fewer health care claims.
3) A large quantity of published research reports that well-conceived, comprehensive workplace wellness efforts will produce returns of more than $3 for every $1 invested.
4) To get a 200% investment return on $10,000 invested in corporate wellness, all you have to do is: get 6 people to stop smoking or get 40 sedentary employees to exercise 2 or more times per week or prevent 2 employees from developing diabetes or get 8 employees to lower their bmi score from above 30 to below 30 or prevent 1 employee from incurring a stress related insurance claim or prevent 1 employee from going to the hospital with chest pains or get 7 employees to reduce their high risk stress levels or prevent 3 employees from filing an OSHA reportable injury claim.
5) In a comprehensive study with 537,319 employee participants tracked for 3.6 years, the cost benefit ratio yielded 5.7 to 1. There was a decrease of 27.8 % in sick leave, 28.7% in health costs and 33.5% in Worker’s Comp and disability costs.
6) In a poll by LifeCare, Inc., from 1,500 of their client companies nationwide, 83% of respondants say they would benefit from a personal wellness coach in making healthier lifestyle decisions.
7) A comprehensive review of peer-reviewed research reported average health care cost savings of $3.48 per dollar invested plus productivity savings of over $6 for every dollar invested bringing an employer’s total return to over $9 per dollar invested in health promotion.
8) Research now demonstrates that the cost of poor health, including group health coverage and certain productivity related costs (turnover, unscheduled absence, non-occupational disability and Worker’s Comp) average almost $16,000 per employee per year.
9) The DHHS has recently released their findings on the impact of poor health on businesses. According to their research, employers must make health promotion and wellness efforts a part of their business strategy. DHHS research has found that for every $1 a company invests in health and wellness services, such as, health screenings, nutritional and exercise programs, smoking cessation, etc…..the company should expect to see a $4 to $4.5 return on their investment.
10) The median opportunity for cost savings from the implementation fo best wellness practices was estimated at 26% of total health related cost, or $4,156 per employee.
REFERENCES
1. Wellness Coaches USA-www.WellnessCoachesUSA.com
2. “Proof Positive: An Analysis of the Cost-Effectivieness of Worksite Wellness”, Fifth Edition, revised and expanded in August of 2002 by Larry S. Chapman.
3. Wellness Councils of America-one of the nation’s leading research institutes on employee health management strategies.
4. Department of Health and Human Services-A presentation by Tommy Thompson (Head of DHHS) to top government and business leaders.
5. Article titled “The Power of Wellness-Could it be Your Solution to Skyrocketing Healthcare Costs” written by Ron Goetzel, PhD, Director of Cornell University’s Institute for Health and Productivity Studies.
6. Health and Productivity Management Benchmarking Study conducted by the Institute for Health and Productivity Management, Medstat, and the American Productivity and Quality Center.