Corporate Health Promotion Programs are proven to improve productivity and reduce healthcare costs. For a business, that makes a difference in the bottom-line. Today, more than 81% of America’s businesses with 50 or more employees have some form of Corporate Health Promotion Program with the most popular being exercise, tobaccos cessation classes, back care programs, and stress management. Most organizations offer Corporate Health Promotion Programs simply because they think the benefit is worth the cost. Yet business leaders continue to ask themselves how to control huge annual increases in health insurance premiums and healthcare costs.

For many organizations, health costs can consume half of corporate profits or more. Some employer’s look to cost sharing, cost shifting, managed care plans, risk rating, and cash-based rebates or rewards. But these methods merely shift costs. Only Corporate Health Promotion Programs stand out as the long-term answer for keeping employees well in the first place.

Corporate Health Promotion Programs are an example of healthcare reform that works. Results from America’s finest organizations, summarized here, are reason enough to consider offering Corporate Health Promotion Programs. This investment in your most important asset – your employees – can have a positive impact on your bottom-line.

Corporate Health Promotion Program Statistics:

Providence Everett Medical Center, a member of the Wellness Councils of America, in Everett, Washington, saved an estimated 3 million or a cost-benefit ratio of 1 to 3.8 over 9 years of an outcomes-based Corporate Health Promotion Program. By offering financial rewards ($250 – $325) to employees who meet specific organizational and employee health initiatives the Corporate Health Promotion Program continues to meet cost containment expectations in the area of healthcare use, sick time, injuries, while improving health habits and self-care practices.

During the first 4 years of the Corporate Health Promotion Program there was a 28% average reduction in healthcare utilization compared to nine other Providence hospitals that were used as a control group.

Du Pont saw that each dollar invested in their Corporate Health Promotion Program yielded $1.42 over two years in decreased absenteeism costs at Du Pont Co. (Well workplace Gold in Delaware). Absences from illness unrelated to the job among 45,000 blue-collar staff members dropped 14% at 41 industrial sites where the Corporate Health Promotion Program was offered, compared with a 5.8% decline at 19 sites where it was not.

The Travelers Corporation claims a $3.40 return for every dollar invested Corporate Health Promotion Programs, yielding total corporate savings of $146 million in benefits costs. Sick leave was decreased 19% during the four-year study. In addition to improving the overall health of 36,000 employees and retirees by decreasing poor health habits and increasing good ones, The Travelers realized cost savings by decreasing the number of unnecessary visits to a doctor and emergency rooms. In a similar but smaller study, members of a Travelers fitness center Corporate Health Promotion Program were absent from work significantly fewer days than non-members.

The Corporate Health Promotion Program at Reynolds Electrical & Engineering Company, based in Las Vegas, cost $76.24 per employee during the two years it has been in operation. Over half of the 1,600 employees took part in the Corporate Health Promotion Program. Participants significantly lowered cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and weight and experienced 21% lower lifestyle-related claim costs than non-participant. Resulting savings: $127.89 per participant in the Corporate Health Promotion Program with a benefit to cost ratio of 1.68 to 1.

Superior Coffee and Foods, a Bensenville, Illinois-based subsidiary of Sara Lee Corporation, attributes impressive results to the success of the corporation’s broad-based Corporate Health Promotion Program. Superior showed 22% fewer admissions to a hospital, 29% shorter hospital stays, and 42% lower expenses per admission when comparing costs for this division’s 1,200 employees with costs for other divisions. Long-term disability costs were down by 40%.

With health costs per employee at $6,000, nearly twice the national average, Union Pacific Railroad introduced their Corporate Health Promotion Program to its 28,000 employees, mostly union and blue collar, in 19 Western and Southern states. Beginning with a modest health self-care initiative at an annual cost of $50 per person, the Corporate Health Promotion Program achieved a net savings of $1.26 million. In addition, a voluntary Corporate Health Promotion Program to help employees reduce health risks projected a cost-benefit ratio of 1 to 1.57 after one year. Workers in a treatment group reduceed their risk of high blood pressure (45%) and high cholesterol (34%); others moved out of the at-risk range for weight problems (30%); and 21% stopped smoking.

Average health costs of high-risk Steelcase employees- those whose lifestyles include two to four health risks such as tobacco use, little exercise, overweight- are 75% higher than those of low-risk employees. But high-risk employees at this Grand Rapids, Michigan-furniture manufacturing corporation who improved their health habits through the company’s Corporate Health Promotion Program and became low risk cut their average health claims in half thus lowering their health insurance costs by an average of $618 per year. If all high-risk employees (20% of the total employee population) in one location changed their lifestyles to become low risk, the projected savings could total $20 million over three years.

Workers at Berk-Tec, a small manufacturing corporation in Lancaster County Pennsylvania, learned self-care techniques and reduceed their corporation’s healthcare costs in one year. By using a self-care guide, the 938 employees and their family members made smart health decisions and saved $21.67 per employee and dependent a nearly 18% reduction in costs. By combining reductions in doctor visits and emergency room use, the business saved $39.06 per employee a 24.3% decrease in costs over the previous year.

A health claims-based study of 72,000 people insured through 285 Wisconsin school districts found a decreased demand for health services among those with access to Corporate Health Promotion Programs and self-care programs. Reductions in health services results in savings for the Wisconsin Education Insurance Group of as much as $4.75 for each $1 spent, higher savings were found in the group receiving access to a 24-hour phone-based nurse advice line, a self-care reference book, and health education materials.

CIGNA’s Healthy Babies prenatal Corporate Health Promotion Program delivered an average savings of $5,000 per birth by providing expectant mothers with educational materials and rewarding early and regular prenatal care. And 80% of participants had normal births without complications compared with 50% for non-participant.

With savings estimated to be as high as $8 million, the California Public Workers’ Retirement System sent its 55,000 retirees a health rist assessment followed, in some cases, with individualized reports and letters and self-care materials to encourage change and help reduce health risks among retirees and at the same time reduce the healthcare claim costs. In another study, Bank of America retirees in California who chose the full Corporate Health Promotion Program and demand reduction program showed a decrease in total direct and indirect costs of 11% compared with a rise of 6.3% for those who completed only a simple health questionnaire.

With decreased healthcare claims, health costs decreased 16% for employees in the City of Mesa (Arizona) who took part in the broad-based Corporate Health Promotion Program. The city realized a return of $3.60 for every dollar invested in the wellnss program for the city employees.

To prevent back injuries among its employees, a county in California targeted white- and blue-collar staff members, offered classes and fitness training. As a result, there was a significant increase in employee morale, decreased worker’s comp claims, health costs and sick days related to back injuries producing a net cost-benefit ratio of 1 to 1.79.

Corporate Health Promotion Programs: Savings

Corporate Health Promotion Programs offer Long-Term Savings

Corporate Health Promotion Programs, according to an article in Crain’s Detroit Business, come in two choices: Corporate Health Promotion Programs or Medical Insurance products that aim to lower costs if healthy habits are followed. Both options are good, but only one will really offer long-term health benefits for your employees and lower costs over the years.

Corporate Health Promotion Programs offer Assistance

Insurance-based products offer employees the opportunity, according to the article by Jay Green, to save money on their premiums if they follow certain steps, including performing an online health assessment, visiting their medical provider, and agree to adopt a healthy lifestyle. These plans usually involve one coach call to the employee during the first 90 days. We wonder if these brief wellness encounters will actually change a individual’s lifestyle.

It is the overall change in a individual’s lifestyle, as well as disease prevention that will lead to lower health costs in the future.

Corporate Health Promotion Programs offer convenient health risk assessments and health testing for things like diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure. As the article states, these have initial start-up costs, but the savings accrue over time and employees are more likely to stay active in an worksite employee Health Promotion Program.

Corporate Health Promotion Programs Get Results

Finally, the article states that corporations with an effective Corporate Health Promotion Program can expect to see “500 percent lower absenteeism, 400 percent fewer disability claims, and 350 percent lower healthcare costs.” These are numbers that are very hard to argue with.