Role of Wellness Programs

Abstract

Three out of every four employers that provide health insurance also provide a wellness program. The programs are designed to improve health and reduce overall health care costs. But do they work? Is there a return on investment? That’s what researchers at the University of Minnesota aimed to find out when they looked in-house, evaluating the U of M’s wellness program over the last few years. One of the researchers, Assistant Professor Jean Abraham, a health policy expert, discussed the findings. <Abraham: “Here at the University, we examined the effectiveness of the disease management program, as well as the lifestyle management program, and the fitness rewards program, which was recently launched in 2008. And our evaluation is showing that not only do these programs save money, but they really are improving the health of employees. And that’s really the overall objective of these initiatives.”> Abraham adds that more research is needed. <Abraham: “The first generation of wellness programs research has really been completed. But there is so much more that we don’t yet know. For example, what factors influence employee participation, how should these programs be designed to be most cost effective, and how should these programs be organized as they related to health insurance that is offered to employees.”> For Public Health Moment, I’m Mark Engebretson.