There's no way to know whether the high-profile wellness program Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel put in place for city employees is actually working, wrote the city’s Inspector General Joe Ferguson in an advisory expressing skepticism over the program and its costs.

The city does not “track or measure” the program, known as "Chicago Lives Healthy," which it pays American Healthways Services $3 million a year to manage, the report says. Because no one knows whether the program has spurred city employees to exercise more often, stop smoking or eat healthier, the city has no sense of whether the $10 million it has spent on the initiative since 2012 has helped rein in health care costs, according to the advisory.

The allegation is particularly salient in the Windy City, which has had to face painful budget cuts to avert fiscal disaster in recent years. The city currently faces a $754 million shortfall as well as $30 billion in pension liabilities, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

The $500 million annual health care bill for city employees is a natural target for political leaders. In fact, the wellness program was part of Emanuel's 2010 campaign promise to reduce employee health spending by $240 million over four years.

“Chicago Lives Healthy is an admirable first attempt by the city to promote improvements in employee health. However, there are serious questions as to whether the program is achieving any demonstrable benefits and if it will ever do so,” Ferguson said.

The city should put in place ways to measure the outcomes of the program, and if such accountability is not possible, then the program should be abandoned entirely, the advisory says.

"In light of the current fiscal challenges, the city—however well-intentioned—simply cannot afford to invest in programs that have no discernible impact,” he wrote.

Instant Insights /

Inspector General questions Chicago's employee wellness program

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