Eighty percent of employers claimed that they are intending to increase their health and wellness budgets this year, more than double compared with 2009 (33%), according to results from the 10th annual Optum Wellness in the Workplace study.
Eighty percent of employers claimed that they are intending to increase their health and wellness budgets this year, more than double compared with 2009 (33%), according to results from the 10th annual Optum Wellness in the Workplace study.
The study included 544 companies with 100 to 10,000-plus employees that currently offer 2 types of health and wellness programs and are involved in the decision-making process of health benefits and programs for employees. Surveys for the study were web-based and conducted from December 2018 to January 2019.
The researchers found that employers are continually increasing the use of digital technology for engaging employees in health and well-being programs. Because of this, the proportion of employers using health-related mobile apps increased by 46% since 2016 as the majority of companies reporting that the apps help with employee participation.
“Employers’ interest in well-designed, comprehensive health and wellness programs that use the latest digital tech has dramatically increased over the last decade,” Seth Serxner, chief health officer at Optum, said in a statement. “We’ve also seen an evolution in the reasons for offering health and well-being programs with employers saying these initiatives are just as important in attracting and retaining employees as addressing health care costs.”
Employee wellness programs including the use of fitness or activity devices increased by nearly 40% of the study period according to employers, while 71% of employers found a successful employee engagement with these programs.
Additionally, over the last 10 years, around 80% of employers say they offer the wellness programs to reduce long-term health care costs, yet other factors are viewed as equally important, such as 79% say they now offer wellness programs to improve absenteeism/presenteeism, and 78% use the wellness programs to attract and retain talent.
When employers were asked about areas of growing interest to them, the results showed that 84% were concerned about substance use disorder and close to 90% of employers are intending to address the stigma surrounding mental health.
Reducing Low-Value Care Is Hard, but What About Just Not Paying for It?
March 14th 2024After years of efforts to reduce low-value care, panelists at the 2024 Value-Based Insurance Design Summit proposed a new strategy: drawing a line in the sand that payers will not be on the hook for these services.
Read More
How Can Employers Leverage the DPP to Improve Diabetes Rates?
February 15th 2022On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Jill Hutt, vice president of member services at the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health, explains the Coalition’s efforts to reduce diabetes rates through the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP).
Listen
Lowering Cardiometabolic Drug Costs May Improve Diabetes Health Outcomes
February 9th 2024Patients enrolled in a preventive drug list (PDL) benefit saw an 8.4% reduction in acute, preventable diabetes complication days, and PDL members residing in lower-income areas saw a 10.2% decrease compared with control members.
Read More
Key Issues Influencing 2022 Employer Health Care Strategy and Plan Design
August 31st 2021On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Ellen Kelsay, president and CEO of the Business Group on Health, on the findings from her organization's 2022 Large Employers’ Health Care Strategy and Plan Design Survey.
Listen