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A
free monthly newsletter for plan sponsors and employee benefits
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March
2002 Volume 1, Number 2 |
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Why Worksite Wellness Health care inflation is back with a vengeance despite employers' best efforts to control rising health care costs (benefit plan redesign, increasing employee co-payments and deductibles, utilization review, and prudent purchase of services). The cost of treating illness will continue to escalate as evidenced by rising medical inflation, cost shifting, utilization, technology, catastrophic cases, and malpractice insurance. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Experts contend that the only long-term solution to managing our health care costs is to stay healthy. The leading causes of death in the U.S. – heart disease, cancer, stroke, accidents, and lung disease–are all related to unhealthy lifestyles. It is estimated that if Americans learn to practice prevention to the fullest, the nation's health bill for the top five killers could be reduced by nearly 70%. Employees spend about 30 percent of their time at work, so the worksite offers a logical and convenient opportunity to provide information, encouragement, and support for employees interested in improving their health and well-being. In addition to helping to reduce insurance premiums and long-term health care costs, worksite wellness also has the potential to increase productivity, decrease absenteeism, and improve overall morale, loyalty, and corporate culture. Since dependents typically account for 40 to 60 percent of a company's health care costs, it makes sense to extend wellness benefits to employees' families. A survey conducted by Hewitt Associates, a global management consulting company, reported 93% of 1,020 companies offered some kind of health promotion program in 1999, compared with 88% in 1994. The survey found that the most common objective is to keep workers healthy, which, directly or indirectly, influences overall health care costs. Source:
Wellness Council of Wisconsin
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The preceding is not intended to be and is not offered as legal advice. We are prohibited from the practice of law. Compliance is the responsibility of the employer or Plan sponsor and affected employees, who should seek their own legal counsel regarding questions about information presented in this newsletter. PlanAhead Direct is a monthly newsletter provided free of charge to select BSG® client representatives and associates. View and search back issues at www.bsg.com/news/paindex.htm. If you would like to change your subscription address, or request a plain text version, please e-mail your request to tessr@bsg.com. Copyright 2002 The Benefit Services Group, Inc. BSG® is a registered trademark of The Benefit Services Group, Inc. |
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