Under the Kansas City Collaborative, participating employers saved nearly $11 million in direct health care costs by focusing on wellness.
The wellness initiative gave employees and their dependents access to better health information, reduced preventive care barriers, and helped them reduce health risks and attain earlier treatment for chronic diseases.
"The Kansas City Collaborative employers are to be commended for recognizing the importance of investing in the health and well-being of their employees and making benefit design decisions based on data," says Christine T. Wilson, MACHC president and CEO. "By implementing a value-based approach to health benefit design, this group of employers has been able to better address worker health and productivity while also lowering overall health care costs."
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Once the Kansas City Collaborative employers reviewed workplace data, they changed their benefits design in an effort to better align incentives with behaviors that reduce health risks, encourage preventive care and promote better health.
Of the nine participating employers, which represent 56,000 employees, there is a projected average savings of $194 for each employee by lessening chronic diseases through the effort. Additionally, 60 percent of those employers require no co-pay for preventive care treatment medication for those enrolled in chronic disease management programs.
Smoking cessation programs are now offered by 30 percent of participating employers, and 50 percent charge lower insurance premiums for employees who complete a health risk assessment, undergo an annual physical, don't smoke and lose 5 percent of their body weight.
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