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Employers Seek Hard Facts, Healthier Workers in Their
Plan Designs
With the threat of health care reform and rising costs looming
over employers' heads, many small businesses are looking to revamp
their benefits plans and keep better track of their programs' value.
 For many employers, that
process starts with encouraging their workers to make some positive
lifestyle changes, according to a recent national survey.
A survey by Towers Watson and the National Business Group on
Health found that 67 percent of employers say worker behavior serves as
the biggest obstacle in managing health care costs, according to a
report in Business
Insurance.
However, changing those behaviors won't be easy, the survey
suggests. In ranking the top obstacles to changing employees' habits,
respondents pointed to lack of engagement (58 percent), lack of
financial incentives (31 percent) and lack of an adequate budget for
health management (30 percent).
Even if employers can get their workers on a diet and into the
gym, there's not always a clear-cut way to measure the financial impact
on their plans. With the threat of "pay or play" emerging
from health care reform, employers want to be able to measure the
return on investment (ROI) of all their health-related benefits,
experts say.
Fortunately, health management programs traditionally have
scored well in ROI, a group of insurance industry experts told
attendees at a recent Employee Benefit Research Institute conference.
For example, management programs designed to prevent employees
from becoming diabetics has proven to create a significant ROI for employers,
experts at the conference said.
New research published by the American Heart Association
bolsters the argument for hands-on programs that improve employee
health. The one-year study of 757 hospital workers found the program
helped the employees shed pounds and reduce their cholesterol
and blood pressure levels.
"Voluntary wellness programs can successfully address
weight loss and lifestyle behaviors for employees in all weight
categories, but more work is needed to improve long-term changes,"
the researchers reported.
However, some experts warn disease management and wellness
programs are not a magic bullet for cost savings.
Bruce Pyenson of Milliman points out that America
has never been healthier despite the nation's rising obesity rates.
Life expectancy is high, and events associated with some chronic
conditions are at a historic low, Pyenson told Employee Benefit News.
Employers will achieve better results by moving to a limited health
plan network and trimming out-of-network benefits, he said.
Regardless of the ROI challenges and the uncertain effect of
health care reform, employers likely will continue to turn to health
management programs, said Jeffrey Munn of Hewitt. "About 50
percent of our health care spending is associated with behavior,"
he said. . . . "If you look at the ability of the medical system
to intervene and prevent some complications resulting from bad health
habits, then we are better off. Yet when you look at the underlying
issues of health, such as nutrition and exercise, then we have been
declining for years."
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