1. It’s “free”  (I would bet the farm the costs are baked in somewhere)
2. It looks sexy
3. It’s integrated with the health plan
4. It’s reportedly “turnkey”

In reality, expecting these free wellness tools to get results is like dropping your child off at the school library (complete with computers, phones, books, etc) each fall and expecting an honor student when you pick them up the next year.  Much of the information and supplies are there, but there is no curriculum, no motivation, no regular accountability, celebration, no social support, etc.  Students need teachers.  Athletes need coaches.  I don’t recall John Wooden winning 10 championships over the phone.

Then why do they offer it?  I recently read a great blog entitled, “Ten Reasons Why Fully Insured Commercial Health Insurers Don’t Offer Worksite Wellness Programs For Their Customers”.  I probably would have called it, “Why Wellness from Most Insurers Is Only Window Dressing”.  As health insurance carriers consider how to grow their profits, there are quite a few factors that impact profits ahead of wellness.  In a webinar where Andrew Sykes, a well-known actuary, spoke about the carriers’ motivation for wellness, he assured the audience that carriers were truly serious about wellness.  They want sexy wellness tools to attract and retain their clients who are interested in wellness.  However, they really don’t care if the tools get results. After all, what’s their motivation for reducing claims?  When claims go up, their revenues and profits go up proportionately.  Their motivation for doing wellness is more likely customer loyalty – like frequent flyer programs.

Where does wellness stack up on the priority list as carriers try to boost profits?  Number FIVE.

1. More accurate underwriting

2. Better provider network with deeper discounts

3. Favorable plan designs that shift cost to employees

4. Efficient claims management

5. Wellness tools or budget

Unfortunately, many employers take the easy bait, and they loose several years of progress before they learn that wellness from carriers is only one-size-fits-all tools. It doesn’t do much to gain the trust of employees either, who are wary of carriers gaining more information about them.  Once again, there are no free lunches…

1.  Expertise – Most employees are not formally trained regarding health or wellness initiatives, thus they lack the knowledge and expertise to handle such programs properly.  Human resources and wellness are not one in the same.  With a competent third-party provider at the helm, wellness programs offer better content, activities and parameters for measurable success.

2.  Best Practices – A wellness program provider is responsible for staying informed of the most current best practices for true health management and long term results.  Without an external resource, a company would be internally responsible for researching information  and trends to lead wellness programs effectively.

3.  Prioritization – When “wellness” is simply an added task for an employee, it will not receive the attention or momentum it deserves.  Because employees were hired for other, more pertinent roles, they simply can’t divert efforts or energies to wellness initiatives when other priorities arise.  By outsourcing wellness, the program always gets the nurturing and attention it requires.

4.  No Conflict of Interest – Relying on a third-party source for wellness implementation allows employees to participate more openly and freely, as they needn’t report into a co-worker regarding matters of personal health.  Many employees may be hesitant to participate in weigh-ins or discuss health matters with HR employees yet would be willing to connect with outsourced leadership in the quest to get healthy.

5.  Trust – By outsourcing wellness, a company keeps a clear and immovable line between HR records, benefits claims and health records.  Participating employees find comfort in knowing their wellness initiatives won’t intermingle with matters of HR or benefits claims. They’ll trust the company’s motives for the program, leading to overall, more measurable success.

While matters of healthcare may not be that simplistic, it’s certainly true that prevention of illness is much simpler (and less expensive) than treatment of illness.  Health problems come with heavy tolls, from loss of wages, productivity and quality of life to high costs of care in a system already overburdened.  That’s why corporate wellness programs are excellent investments for companies.  Why not focus on keeping people well rather than treating and medicating them after they’re already sick?

In the Three Stages of Prevention, we see the progression of disease, as well as the tools of intervention that aid in response and can help lead to positive results.  Statistics show that the costs involved with Stage One, disease avoidance, are measurably less than with Stage Two, early detection, or Stage Three, established disease.  By the time disease has taken hold, there is often the need for ongoing medication, doctors’ visits, case management and other health support.  In contrast, disease prevention involves only health assessments, lifestyle coaching, exercise and education.

For employers looking to offer value above and beyond existing benefit packages for employees, contain overall healthcare costs and maximize workforce productivity, corporate wellness programs are the right solution.  Third party wellness management incorporates a culture of wellness into the corporate root system and teaches employees to live healthier and avoid disease.  Additionally, it builds in mechanisms to catch health issues through early detection and stave off problematic health issues early in the stages of prevention.

At first glance goal #2 appears to be corporate-focused because it relates to businesses’ bottom lines.  However, when companies save money on healthcare costs, the dollars spared can be circulated within the organization for the good of employee populations.

Excessive healthcare costs deplete organizations’ time and money, as responsible staffers spend inordinate time assessing and addressing issues related to high costs.  Negotiating with payers for the best plans and regarding issues surrounding claims is highly intensive and time consuming.  Certainly, when employees are less healthy, there are more claims, costs and issues to deal with on many levels.

However, when wellness is prioritized and employees stay healthy, companies are able to invest money in benefits programs, work environment upgrades, salary enhancements, employee relations campaigns, improved infrastructure and technologies—and so on.

Wellness should be a corporate culture.  It should pervade every aspect of a company to become fully integrated as a way of life for those out making livings.  And when it does, everyone from the C-Suite to the front desk stand to gain.