Practice Management

Wellness programs and savings plans continue growth.

The most common strategy used was to ask employees to pay more via the medical plan design (46 percent).

Findings from a recent Hewitt Associates survey determined employers depend on both penalties and incentives to encourage their employees to participate in wellness programs.

Businesses with 25 or fewer employees and with average annual wages of $40,000 or less are eligible for a credit of up to 50 percent of nonelective contributions they make toward insurance premiums for their employees.

A new study by Thomson Reuters finds health care costs for employers increased 7.3 percent in 2009, a climb from 6.1 percent 2008.

Employers remain committed to improving worker health, but according to a new survey, many are tightening requirements to receive financial incentives for participating in health and productivity programs.