Selling the solution

There's little doubt about the trend in health care costs. Health insurance premiums continue to climb at nearly five times the inflation rate with double-digit increases presenting no surprise. In California alone, the cost of premiums, co-pays and deductibles jumped as high as 30 percent this year with next year's forecasts predicting more of the same.

There is no mystery regarding causation. Aging baby boomers account for greater utilization. HMOs continue to generate larger profits. Hospitalization and drugs cost more today and patients have a plethora of medical options available to extend, enrich or alter their lives. With these advances comes tremendous expense.

The crisis in insurance costs is forcing employers and consumers alike to re-examine health care spending practices, with no easy answers in sight. As employers look to reduce the cost of care, they are seeing fewer options and are shifting more costs onto consumers. In the form of higher deductibles and co-pays, the average worker's monthly contribution jumped from $27 in 1999 to $226 in 2005. Employee groups and unions made these increases part of negotiations and even strikes.

Changes unliklely
Hitting workers in their paychecks also has had positive effects. There is an increased awareness of the health care conundrum at all levels in the workplace. It is this disastrous condition that caused decision-makers as well as users to look at prevention and wellness as a way to control costs, recognizing that the top 10 causes of medical treatment relate to preventable conditions. Highest on that list of costly and preventable conditions is obesity, accounting for spending of more than $13 billion per year.

The Center for Disease Control estimates 65 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese. Clearly, this is an all-time high. More alarming is the record rate of "expansion." Since 1999, the percentage of obese Americans more than doubled from 15 percent to 31 percent. Simply put, the majority of Americans are fat and getting fatter, incurring 36 percent higher annual health costs and accounting for a tenfold increase in disability claims. From 1997 through 2003, the number of new cases of diagnosed diabetes increased by 52 percent. This data, while shocking, represents only the tip of the obesity iceberg.

This epidemic or "The Battle of the Bulge" brings to mind images of clashing armies and daring maneuvers. But is this a battle already lost? America seems to be on amicable terms with its growing waistline. While no one welcomes the extra pounds, little is being done to shed them in spite of studies documenting that obesity increases health risks and costs, accounts for an excess in absences, raises negativity in workplace relationships, lowers productivity and decreases general mobility.

Conversely, research shows increased physical fitness results in positive improvement in both quality and quantity of work performed.

It is clear employers have a vested interest in reducing obesity in the workplace, not only to benefit the work force, but also to protect a company's financial base. No one is in a better position to assist and influence a proactive approach to cost containment than benefit brokers and consultants.

Brokers and consultants can assist corporate clients in cutting insurance utilization and increasing motivation for change by emphasizing the importance of health promotion and implementing company-wide wellness programs as part of a complete benefit package.

And prevention pays. The effects of a wellness program are obvious and savings are easily quantifiable. Studies have shown that health care costs alone can be reduced by 33 percent or more for employees who participate in a wellness program, with Workers' Comp and Disability use concomitantly reduced.

The Bank of America saves $6 for each dollar invested in a wellness program; Coors reports $4 million in annual savings on cost avoidance with a wellness program; Waste Management Inc. estimates savings up to $15,000 per employee per year with a wellness program. The City of Dallas cited an annual individual expense reduction from $620 for an obese employee to $114 for an employee of normal weight. Wellness programs are a good investment.

Choosing the right workplace wellness program can be critical to achieving both humanistic and financial goals. Search the Web for wellness and everything from discounted gym memberships to trips to Disneyland show up -- thousands of hits.

Choices can be overwhelming unless approached with a clear mission, management buy-in and attention to the unique characteristics of each work force. A benefit consultant can be key in this selection process by matching the client's corporate culture to the right option for maximizing results. Brokers and consultants can assist in insuring that a wellness program is comprehensive and includes necessary elements -- health risk assessment, promotion, incentives, disease management and evaluation. By assisting the company in its planning stages the likelihood of good outcomes is assured.

Poorly designed or piecemeal efforts usually result in poor results that lead opponents to say, "I told you it wouldn't work." Poor participation, perceived stigma, fear of discrimination, even concern for legal exposure are all barriers to success in controlling costs and providing the long range benefits of better employee health and safety. Benefits consultants can play a pivotal role in addressing these concerns and insuring appropriate attention to the many factors that might have an adverse affect on the success of any wellness and prevention program.

The employee assistance program can be a powerful ally and natural partner to wellness efforts. Teaming with an employee assistance program can bring the broker-consultant, corporate management and worker representatives into a powerful alliance. With the EAPs' core technology to support behavioral change, a track record of success and its numerous resources, partnering creates a win-win for everyone.

Obesity needs to be addressed before it a cripples the corporate world further. Brokers and consultants who are knowledgeable about these resources can point their clients in the right direction.

While individual employees are ultimately responsible for their own health choices, the employer can provide motivation, education and incentives to reduce obesity in the work force. Management can positively influence the complex interactions between work and health, costs and morale, productivity and profit.

By selling the solution, the benefits consultant can assist the client-employer in taking a proactive stance, which results in better workplace health, reduced costs and a real impact on that all-important bottom line.