What are the Proven Financial Benefits of Health and Wellness Programs?

The implementation and growth of Health & Wellness programs has become a very hot topic for companies seeking to obtain maximum returns on their health investment dollars. According to a 2011 PwC Health and Well-being Touchstone Survey of approximately 1,700 companies, 73% reported offering wellness programs to eligible employees. However, the big question in this platform is not figuring out what to implement, but how to measure what has been implemented. According to a National Business Group on Health and Fidelity Investments survey, “only one-third of employers have measurable goals/targets for their health improvement programs, and 59% of employers don’t know their return on investment (ROI).” In order to ensure an effective design and implementation of health and wellness programs, it is important to establish a practical measuring system that can accurately track its performance and evaluate its results

Healthy at Work? Unequal Access to Employer Wellness Programs

Reports findings from a March 2009 survey of American workers' views and opinions on employer-provided wellness programs

Corporate Wellness Programs

This study addresses Workplace Wellness Programs (WWP) in large and small businesses to assess if and how they are effective, what employers perceived about WWP, and what components from a WWP are perceived as best for achieving desired results. In order to address this, 10 large and small business in the city of Columbus, Georgia were interviewed. The literature suggested that businesses should consider implementing WWPs. After conducting the interviews, local businesses do in fact support workplace wellness as they perceive a WWP may help reduce stress and an unhealthy lifestyle for employees, and in turn, develop a more productive employee

Premium Incentives to Drive Wellness in the Workplace: A Review of the Issues and Recommendations for Policymakers

Outlines trends in workplace wellness programs; healthcare reform law provisions allowing greater financial incentives for employees; policy considerations for vulnerable populations, privacy issues, and affordability of coverage; and recommendations

Workplace Wellness Programs: Healthy Lifestyles and Economic Success

Abstract The following is a review of articles and literature on health-care costs, return on investment, employee health benefits, business success, barriers associated with workplace wellness programs and support systems, and an infrastructure that supports implementation. Research and literature on costs, benefits, barriers, and program implementation support is examined in this paper that are associated with successful workplace wellness programs. Findings from this review include a positive return on investment, lower healthcare costs for both the employee and employer, and additional benefits for the employee, employer, and the community. Also, barriers to participate in workplace wellness programs, use of incentives to increase participation in programs, and key characteristics of successful workplace wellness programs were discovered. Keywords: workplace wellness programs, employee well-being, economic success, infrastructure

An Examination of the Impact of Workplace Wellness Programs on Health Outcomes in the U.S. Versus European Countries

Non-communicable diseases are a growing concern for older adults, which has led to the popularity of wellness programs in developed countries to improve the health and productivity of workers. While the U.S. and Western Europe have invested a significant amount of money on wellness programs, trends indicate that the U.S. still falls short in health outcomes. This study utilized online databases to analyze data on each country’s average life expectancy and cardiovascular mortalities in comparison to prevalence of workplace wellness programs. Workplace wellness programs may be effective tools for impacting the health of a population once appropriate initiatives are incorporated

What Are the Provisions in the New Law for Containing Costs and How Effective Will They Be?

Examines 2010 healthcare reform provisions for cost containment and quality improvement, including insurance exchanges, excise tax on high-cost plans, delivery system and payment reforms, Medicare payment cuts, and prevention and wellness programs

Workplace Wellness Programs: Empirical Doubt, Legal Ambiguity, and Conceptual Confusion

Federal laws that protect workers from insurance discrimination and infringement of health privacy include exceptions for wellness programs that are “voluntary” and “reasonably designed” to improve health. Initially, these exceptions were intended to give employers the flexibility to create innovative wellness programs that would appeal to workers, increase productivity, and protect the workforce from preventable health conditions. Yet a detailed look at the scientific literature reveals that wellness program efficacy is quite disputed, and even highly touted examples of program success have been shown to be unreliable. Meanwhile, the latest administrative regulations on wellness programs were vacated by a district court in January 2019, leaving the legal scope of wellness programs in flux. The U.S. District Court of Connecticut now has a case before it that could start a national overhaul of these programs. In this Article, we give a scientific and legal overview of wellness programs and explain why wellness programs are a source of ethical controversy. Given the unsteady evidence on wellness programs’ benefits and their real potential risks, we argue that more should be done to regulate their scope and design. A robust interpretation of the relevant statutes would help protect workers in the face of indecisive evidence. To this end, we conclude with an attempt to resolve the widespread disagreement over the terms “voluntary” and “reasonable design” with the goal of providing courts and regulators with a more workable framework to apply

Health is Wealth: The Correlation of Wellness Programs & Productivity in Canada and the U.S.

Does health impact the productivity of workers? Are there differences between the U.S. and Canada? Firms both in Canada and the U.S. deal with issues of presenteeism and absenteeism. Presenteeism is when an employee shows up to work but they are distracted by their own or a family member’s health issue. One response to reduce presenteeism and absenteeism are workplace wellness programs. Workplace wellness programs are facilitated programs by a firm to promote the health and wellbeing of their employees, which benefits the employer and the employees. There are additional incentives for U.S. employers to implement workplace wellness programs as employers are the foundation of private insurance in the U.S. while Canada operates on a one payer healthcare system. However, Canadian employers are responsible for pharmaceutical, physical therapy, and mental health insurance costs (Jacobs, 2017). Most studies examine their country and found that workplace wellness programs provide 300-400% return on investment in Canada and the U.S., making wellness programs effective and smart investments for firms to make. This study will do data analysis that will compare the effectiveness of workplace wellness programs on productivity in Canada and the U.S