Employer Health Benefits Survey Asks about Wellness Programs [Group Markets]
Do your employer groups ask about the purpose or value of wellness programs? Then you might find the following survey results of interest. The Kaiser Family Foundation’s Employer Health Benefits 2008 Annual Survey included questions on wellness programs offered to employees and incentives for participation in those programs.
Of the large firms (200 or more workers) offering health benefits, the reasons cited for providing wellness programs were:
- 40 percent said their primary reason for providing wellness programs was to improve the health of employees and reduce absenteeism
- 30 percent cited reducing health care costs as their primary reason
- 18 percent said wellness programs were part of the existing health plan
- 6 percent said programs were implemented to improve employee morale and productivity
- 4 percent said it was to recruit and retain workers
Also, slightly less than two-thirds (64 percent) of all employers surveyed think that offering wellness programs is effective in improving the health of the firm’s employees. Among those companies offering health coverage, 68 percent of large employers believe that offering wellness programs is effective in reducing the firm’s health care costs.
