A company wellness program is set up in the workplace to offer employees a kind of comprehensive health service, to encourage employees to adopt healthier lifestyles and to take measures aimed at preventing the worsening or onset of illnesses.
In the last five years, wellness programs were supposed to bring the most amount of savings for group health insurance. These small group wellness programs have had obstacles to overcome:
- The cost of implementing a true wellness program has been difficult to budget for most small companies.
- Obtaining a positive return on investment have been very difficult to achieve. 10% of groups usually represent 80% of the claims on a group health insurance plan, so the health insurance premiums can continue to sky rocket even with strong participation in wellness.
In a small group, there are just not enough premium dollars to offset large claims. It only takes one complicated condition to create a large loss ratio, which in turn creates a large rate increase at renewal.
But, there is something a wellness program creates that is not in the numbers: Company Morale!
When all of the employee are active in a wellness program, you create a healthy environment. People are eating healthy lunches and taking the stairs for additional exercise. Employees are taking walks at lunch time or wearing pedometers. Your employees come together on a common goal and it creates a positive work environment.
With careful planning, your company can create a well-designed wellness program to contribute to your employees’ healthier lives, increased productivity, reduced absenteeism and reduced health care costs.
