There are certain maxims in the benefits business, such as:
|- Payroll deduction increases enrollment;
- Emergency rooms are expensive—and bad;
- Trade shows have open bars (or should);
- And wellness programs save everyone money.
Well, it looks like we might have to strike that last one. The latest issue of Health Affairs dropped this week with what appears to be the results of one of the most exhaustive studies of workplace wellness programs we have on record. It was even big enough news to make the Associated Press.
Anyway, researchers followed the employees at a St. Louis hospital for two years, and while hospitalizations overall for those covered fell pretty dramatically—a little more than 40 percent over a range of conditions—higher outpatient costs wiped those savings out.
This runs contrary to not only popular belief, but a number of other studies, as well. Wellness programs on the whole, we've always been told, cut utilization, the very heart of what drives premiums. Everyone is jumping on board these plans, which attack things we know for a fact lead to higher health insurance costs, such as smoking, lack of exercise and bad diets.
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.