The Alliance for Wellness ROI, Inc. (Alliance), the organization that conducted the survey, is a nonprofit intercompany cooperative formed in January 2005. Its mission is to promote corporate wellness programs by demonstrating that wellness programs are an investment rather than an expense to a company.

Disease Management Programs

Seventy-two percent of survey respondents offered the disease management wellness program component. Typically, these employers identify plan participants who are chronically ill, and then manage the care of those participants. 

The goal of these programs is to ultimately reduce hospital stays necessitated by mismanagement of these chronic illnesses. Disease management programs have increased in prevalence over the last 4-5 years and are almost always offered through either a medical plan or another third-party vendor, notes Alliance.

Health Risk Appraisal (HRA)

Of the 94 percent of respondents that offered HRAs, almost 55% offered incentives for participation. The incentives included cash, reduced medical plan contributions, contributions added to the employee’s flexible spending account, and gifts.

On-site Medical Response

Of the responding companies that offered on-site medical programs, most offered an on-site nurse. 

Telephonic Wellness Services

The “nurseline” is the most prevalent telephonic wellness program component. Most nurselines are administered by the medical plan administrator. Telephone coaching programs are relatively new and are being increasingly added by companies, says Alliance.

Smoking Cessation

Of the responding companies that offered at least one smoking cessation program component, most offered discounts for smoking cessation medications and self-help programs.

Incentives (and disincentives) for smoking cessation is a relatively new idea and includes financial rewards for cessation and increased monthly medical plan contributions for smokers, Alliance says.

Fitness

The majority of survey respondents that offered fitness programs predominantly offered on-site fitness facilities and discounts for fitness clubs. 

Well-structured and well-run wellness programs generate ROI of up to 300 percent—music to management's ears! But the key words are well-structured and well-run, because poorly structured programs just spin their wheels—no health benefit and no positive ROI, either.

Many readers have told us that BLR's comprehensive guidebook, Workplace Wellness: Healthy Employees, Healthy Families, Healthy ROI, has helped them get programs up and running that achieve wellness objectives with a great ROI, while avoiding the legal hassles that, these days, seem to attend any worthwhile venture in HR.

It's a comprehensive guide that takes you step by step through setting up a program, from convincing management all the way through to creating and implementing a workable plan for your workplace. The guide also includes a vast collection of ready-to-use forms, handouts, and checklists that both structure your program and provide the metrics to prove its effectiveness to management's satisfaction.

If you'd like to examine Workplace Wellness: Healthy Employees, Healthy Families, Healthy ROI on a no-cost, no-obligation basis for 30 days, we can arrange for you to do so. Let us know and we'll be happy to set it up.

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