June 2005

Corporate concern for wellness on the rise?

Corporate concern for wellness may be on the rise. Two surveys by major companies suggest that wellness is on the minds of corporate America as well as its employees.

According to a recent survey of human resources (HR) executives conducted by Aon Consulting, almost half — 43 percent — of the companies surveyed have adopted a formalized disease management and health promotion/wellness strategy for employees. Another 19 percent have been asked by senior management to explore opportunities associated with these programs.

And a survey of 365 leading companies released by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions and the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) found that 62 percent of companies said they implemented wellness programs to improve employee health, and another 33 percent said they were considering such programs.

Of those companies with programs, 64 percent said rising health care costs were “a major factor in our decision” and another 34 percent said high costs played some role.

The Deloitte survey showed that mployers made clear that wellness programs are just part of their strategy to manage rising health care costs, and shifting some of the cost to workers was the most popular step. Eighty-three percent of those who responded said they have increased employees’ contributions to their health coverage in the last year.

The AON survey listed the most important wellness concerns of respondents:

Nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of the companies in the AON survey have formal strategies in place host on-site health screenings for employees (i.e., to check for high blood pressure or cholesterol).

Complete results of each of these survey are available at each company’s Web site: www.aon.com and www.deloitte.com.

Sources: AON Consulting, www.aon.com; Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, www.deloitte.com