Comments on: Are wellness programs a big waste?

By: Lisa

Lisa — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:58:38 +0000

Unless it comes with a personal trainer or someone to follow the smoker or eater around 24/7, I am going to say that 9 times out of 10 it is a waste!

By: Laura

Laura — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:43:49 +0000

Dawn and Sharon, Our Wellness Coordinator is Nancy Hudspeth. Call us at 704-872-6522 and we can get more information to you.

By: gina

gina — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:53:27 +0000

I work for a large global computer software company and we are currently in the process of creating and implementing a wellness program for the employees. We are looking to partner with wellness vendor and our first initiativ after a huge kickoff will be rolling out an HRA. Based on my research, I found that incentives work best for the success of wellness programs. Although we will be incenting ee’s to participate int he HRA, we also want to incetive employees for signing up and completing programs we implement such as obesity, smoking cessation. Any thoughts around this idea?

By: Dawn Gaye

Dawn Gaye — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:56:18 +0000

Laura, I am interested in knowing your formula for success; can you give me an overview of your wellness strategies including measurements? Thanks

By: Bruce Hansbrough, D.C., DACBOH

Bruce Hansbrough, D.C., DACBOH — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:47:20 +0000

Given the uncertainty of the financial markets these days, employers that look to staying productive and enhance the work environment will succeed in the world economic order. A wellness program that has measurable outcome tool as the basis for establishing both corporate and personal accountability is really the only way to know how effective it is. Too often clients ask for the “quick fix” under pressure from senior management to get costs under control with little planning for how to measure the effectiveness of the program. Any wellness program worth anything must have the budget, support from management and employees, save more than it costs, and have a regular measurable outcome assessments. The major reasons a wellness program fails is it wasn’t a true wellness program to begin with.

By: John Cerasani- Northwest Comprehensive, Inc.

John Cerasani- Northwest Comprehensive, Inc. — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:32:46 +0000

As an employee benefit consultant for health insurance plans, I find wellness programs to be very strong in controlling costs long term. What is difficult for mid-sized employers to quantify is how much was REALLY prevented by them in terms of conditions that did not exist from one plan year to the next. If in 2007 your plan had two $40,000 heart conditions tied to obesity or smoking, and then the next year there weren’t any… Can you quantify $80,000 as a return on investment to the plan for its introduction to a wellness program? Of course you can’t, especially if you are a mid-sized employer. However, over time, if the wellness program prevents one or two large conditions from happening it will more than pay for itself from a financial standpoint (not to mention that it may have saved the life/helped the well-being of one of your employees). The Hewitt study is great, and what I take most from it is the emphasis on how the plan is rolled out and communicated to employees in order for a comprehensive wellness program to really be successful.

By: Karen Evans

Karen Evans — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:19:12 +0000

My husband’s company does health assessments. The problem with me doing it as a spouse is that it requires too much medical information that I don’t have…cholesteral levels, blood pressure, etc. So it’s kind of pointless. By the time I get that info, the period is closed to do the assessment.

By: Larry

Larry — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:40:11 +0000

BTW – wellness programs started over 20 years ago. I was doing one at a large corporation at that time. The programs that started in the past five years are the ones tied into incentives with the healthcare plan. The incentive plans do work if there is a financial “carrot” applied to them. When people realize that the plans really are the employers’ and if the employers choose to minimize exposure through wellness programs and they will reduce their own premiums at the same time – they are successful. People have to become consumers and make informed choices with their health plans. Wellness programs help them make better choices.

By: Sharon

Sharon — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:17:10 +0000

Laura – would be very interested in knowing more about the programs you provide. We have just begun our wellness program.

By: Susan Seip

Susan Seip — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:18:43 +0000

Any metrics or comments on Flu Vaccines?