In the media, we continually hear that health care costs are out of control. In part I agree with that initial assessment, but I might be changing my mind based upon some results that were just released. According to a most recent Health Plan Survey, less than 20% of all employers have an Employee Wellness Program in place.
What I found so interesting is that Employer Wellness Programs have been proven over and over again to save on healthcare costs, and spin off a positive rate of return. Based upon this, you have to ask yourself – Are Healthcare costs high enough? They might not be, since they have not caused employers to seek out all ways to save on their healthcare costs.
Truthfully, this 20% number is also very likely an inflated number since some companies think they have a wellness program in place because they send out letters to employees telling them they could get sick from eating fast food 5 days a week (not exactly what I would call a TRUE Wellness Program).
As a company, I would recommend looking at this as Good News because it probably means your competition is just sitting back doing nothing. A well integrated Corporate Wellness Program Can Make a HUGE Difference in your overall company culture, and spin off a positive ROI starting year 1.
The Trick is to know what works, and not waste a lot of time figuring it all out by trial and error (allowing your competition to catch up). IF you know what works, this will happen for you fast, and the results will get better and better each year. So many companies miss this – they try to start a wellness program without knowing the fundamental principles of what works, and 2 years into it they determine their program isn’t going anywhere. The end result is that their wellness program only serves as a common joke amongst employees.
It doesn’t have to be this way for your company. GET EDUCATED and learn what you need to know, implement your plan and watch what happens! By the way, I’m speaking from experience not only with my clients, but also with my own employees. A Fully Integrated Wellness Program can even change your company culture, a positive impact that goes much further than saving on Health Care Costs.
Mark Combs (CLU, ChFC, CFP®, RHU, REBC, CFA)
A Vice-President, minority owner of Horne/Guest Employee Benefits, one of the largest employee benefit advisory firms in South Carolina – http://www.horneguest.com -
Horne/Guest is also a Charter Member of United Benefit Advisors, the 3rd largest employee benefit advisory firm in the U.S.
Mark is a graduate of Wofford College, with two undergraduate degrees (Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy and Philosophy & Bachelor of Science in Economics). He entered the individual financial services field directly out of college as a Certified Financial Planner® with John Hancock Financial, where he was selected as “Rookie of The Year” in 1998.
Mark began working in the employee benefits arena with Marsh & McLennan Companies, specializing in large employee groups. Mark holds 6 professional designations & was honored in 2003 with the Distinguished Educational Achievement Award.
Tags: health, healthcare