Health Insurers Promoting Employee Wellness: Strategies,Program Components and Results

Abstract

Purpose.

To examine health insurance companies' role in employee wellness.

Approach.

Case studies of eight insurers.

Setting.

Wellness activities in work, clinical, online, and telephonic settings.

Participants.

Senior executives and wellness program leaders from Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurers and from one wellness organization.

Methods.

Telephone interviews with 20 informants.

Results.

Health insurers were engaged in wellness as part of their mission to promote health and reduce health care costs. Program components included the following: education, health risk assessments, incentives, coaching, environmental consultation, targeted programming, onsite biometric screening, professional support, and full-time wellness staff. Programs relied almost exclusively on positive incentives to encourage participation. Results included participation rates as high as 90%, return on investment ranging from $1.09 to $1.65, and improved health outcomes.

Conclusion.

Health insurers have expertise in developing, implementing, and marketing health programs and have wide access to employers and their employees' health data. These capabilities make health insurers particularly well equipped to expand the reach of wellness programming to improve the health of many Americans. By coupling members' medical data with wellness-program data, health insurers can better understand an individual's health status to develop and deliver targeted interventions. Through program evaluation, health insurers can also contribute to the limited but growing evidence base on employee wellness programs.

Keywords

Health Insurer Employee Wellness Health Management Health Risk Assessment Health Promotion Incentives Manuscript format: research Research purpose: descriptive Study design: qualitative Outcome measure: behavioral,biometric,other financial/economic Setting: workplace,clinical/health care Health focus: fitness/physical activity,nutrition,smoking control,stress management,weight control Strategy: education,skill building/behavior change,incentives,culture change Target population age: adults

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Mercer Health and Benefits. 2007 Mercer National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans. New York, NY: Mercer Health and Benefits; 2008.

Partnership for Prevention. Leading by Example: Improving the Bottom Line Through a High Performance, Less Costly Workplace. Washington, DC: Partnership for Prevention; 2005.

Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2002.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Web site. Chronic disease overview. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/overview.htm. Accessed May 3, 2008.

US Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010: Understanding and Improving Health. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office; 2000.

Finch

. Preventive services: improving the bottom line for employers. Compens Benefits Rev. 2005;37:18–22.

Hunnicutt

Leffelman

. WELCOA's 7 benchmarks of success. Absolute Advantage. 2006;6:3–29, Available at: http://welcoa.org/freeresources/pdf/7cs_report.pdf. Accessed October 4, 2007.

HERO. HERO Employee Health Management Best Practice Scorecard, version 2. Birmingham, Al: HERO; 2007. Available at: http://www.the-hero.org/Scorecard_Version%20Two.pdf. Accessed October 9, 2007.

Partnership for Prevention. Healthy Workforce 2010: An Essential Health Promotion Sourcebook for Employers, Large and Small. Washington, DC: Partnership for Prevention; 2001. Available at: http://www.prevent.org/images/stories/Files/publications/Healthy_Workforce_2010.pdf. Accessed October 9, 2007.

10.

Goetzel

Shechter

Ozminkowski

. Promising practices in employer health and productivity management efforts: findings from a benchmarking study. J Occup Environ Med. 2007;49:111–130.

11.

Gordian Health Solutions Web site. Health information. Available at: http://www.gordian-health.com/Services_Health_Information.php. Accessed June 3, 2008.

12.

Greene

. Guiding the way to wellness. AHIP Cover. 2007;48:14–16,18,20.

13.

Noeldner

. Rewards for Healthy Lifestyles. Mercer Health and Benefits Special Report. Omaha, NE: Wellness Councils of America; 2006.

14.

Partnership for Prevention. Leading by Example: Leading Practices for Employee Health Management. Washington, DC: Partnership for Prevention; 2007.

15.

Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease. Keeping America Healthy: A Guide to Successful Programs. Washington, DC: Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease; 2008.

16.

WELCOA. Designing wellness incentives, part 1. Absolute Advantage. 2005;4:2–44.

17.

Naydeck

Pearson

Ozminkowski

. The impact of the Highmark employee wellness programs on 4-year health care costs. J Occup Environ Med. 2008;50:146–156.

18.

Terry

Seaverson

ELD

Grossmeier

Anderson

. Association between nine quality components and superior worksite health management program results. J Occup Environ Med. 2008;50:633–641.

19.

Linnan

Bowling

Childress

. Results of the 2004 National Worksite Health Promotion Survey. Am J Public Health. 2008;98:1–7.

20.

Pelletier

. A review and analysis of the clinical- and cost-effectiveness studies of comprehensive health promotion and disease management programs at the worksite: update VI 2000–2004. J Occup Environ Med. 2005;47:1051–1058.

21.

Aldana

. Financial impact of health promotion programs: a comprehensive review of the literature. Am J Health Promot. 2001;15:296–320.

22.

Chapman

. Meta-evaluation of worksite health promotion economic return studies: 2005 update. Am J Health Promot. 2005;19:1–11.

23.

Hackbarth

. Reforming the health care delivery system. Statement before the Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives; April 1, 2009; Washington, DC.

24.

Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Integrating Employee Health: A Model Program for NASA. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2005.